Koushirou's Search!
by Relaxing Pikachu
Summary: Some surprising news from his parents, makes him curious about his real ones and why they put him up for adoption. He has now gone in search of them, with some help from Mimi. Will he find them or is he in for a big surprise?
1. The Assignment!

Here we are. A new fic for you based on something I've wanted to write about for a long time...Koushirou's finding out more about his birth parents. The catch is that he knows he's adopted, but his adoptive parents don't _know_ that he knows. It's like the conversation they had in 01 about his being adopted never occured. Nice conflict, right? I know it's probably already been done, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. Oh, btw, I'm not sure who I'm going to have in this fic yet. Koushirou's a definite candidate for a person who's going to show up and Mimi since she's in his class. No kidding, I know. lol I'll put up their ages anyway. 

I would also like to thank my online buddy, Riah-chan for unknowingly helping me out with this fic. She helped out when it came to the drama stuff and correcting my Japanese. ^^ 

Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters, places, etc. 

Jou: 16 (Grade 10; First year of High School)   
Taichi/Sora/Yamato: 15 (Grade 9; Third and final year of Junior High)   
Koushirou/Mimi: 14 (Grade 8; Second year of Junior High)   
Miyako: 13 (Grade 7; First year of Junior High)   
Takeru/Hikari/Daisuke/Ken: 12 (Grade 6; last year of Elementary)   
Iori: 10 (Grade 4) *********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Koushirou's Search!

Part 1: The Assignment! 

It was a nice, sunny filled afternoon in the city of Odaiba. Birds singing, bees buzzing, squirrels gathering acorns, having their fun. Too bad you can't say that for the human children of Odaiba. 

"And we're stuck in school!" Taichi complained, popping up from out of nowhere. 

"Um, yes," RP said while clearing her throat. "All of the children are in school." 

"And this is the _perfect_ day to be out on the field playing Soccer! Instead, we're cooped up inside reading the play of Romeo & Juliet! How boring!" 

"I agree with you on the play, but Taichi...why are you here?" 

"Um, I dunno," Taichi said with a goofy grin. 

"Well, shoo. I have a fic to start." 

"I _am_ going to be in this fic, aren't I?" 

"Probably. I can't write a fic without you, which is surprising since you aren't even a fav of mine. You're just cool. It's the Elementary kids and the High School ones I'm not so sure of. I'll probably get Jou in here though. He _is_ a favorite of mine." 

"Cool, well I'm out of here!" 

Taichi took off to leave RP and let her continue on with her story. 

"Good, now back to the story. We now join a History class that is already in session..." 

"Okay class, it's time for your mandatory extra credit assignment." 

The entire class groaned at the thought. 

"Ishidzuka-sensei, Ishidzuka-sensei," a boy called while waving his arm around. 

"Yes, Tomokazu-kun?" Mr. Ishidzuka answered. 

"Since when is Extra Credit mandatory?" 

"Since the majority of this class flunked the last test I gave, meaning you won't see the next grade without it!" 

"Not _all_ of us are making rotten marks!" 

"Does it really matter? The extra credit could do most of you some good." 

Seki quieted down as the class giggled a bit, including his cousin, Yuuji, who laughed the loudest. 

"Ueda-san!" Mr. Ishidzuka called. "Is there something amusing you as of the moment?" 

Yuuji stood up since he was addressed and said, "No, Ishidzuka-sensei." 

"If it isn't Seki acting up, it's you," the man muttered while massaging his temples. 

Yuuji laughed nervously and took his seat. 

"Now for your assignment..." 

The students started to take out writing utensils to get the assignment. 

"I want you all to write about your _true_ family, parents, whatever and I don't want any of that same old stuff. I want something different and creative. Think of it as a real history project. Get interviews, write an article, I don't care what you do, just make this assignment as creative as you can and it's due a week from tomorrow." 

A certain 14-year-old frowned at his History Assignment. He had always hated doing assignments dealing with his parents. No, he didn't hate them or anything, he just felt that he was lying whenever writing stuff about his "true" parents. 

This redheaded student was none other than the computer genius Izumi Koushirou. He sat there in deep thought, thinking about his assignment. His train of thought was soon broken by that of a young girl's voice. 

"Koushirou...Koushirou, the bell rang a long time ago," the girl told him. "It's time to go home." 

The boy looked up to see a familiar looking girl in a green school uniform who was a pretty good friend. 

"Oh, hey Mimi-san." 

The young girl was none other than Odaiba Junior High's popular, outgoing Tachikawa Mimi. She had recently moved back to Odaiba a few months earlier right before the new school year. She's currently living with the Nishimura's, which consisted of her Aunt Sué, her husband--Mimi's Uncle Kichibei--and their children-- four year old Isako and her one year old brother, Ton. 

Sué was Mimi's father's younger sister. Even though there was a big age difference between Mimi and her cousins, she still got along with them pretty well. At first, the girl was skeptical about moving back to Odaiba and living with her aunt and her fairly new family because she felt she would be intruding, but she _truly_ wanted to move back to Odaiba. That's where all of her friends are afterall. 

When the idea passed on to her aunt and uncle, they were thrilled to have her stay. She _was_ Sué's favorite niece and the rest of the family liked Mimi. The move was the most difficult on Mimi's parents though. They were a bit against Mimi coming back by herself, but they wanted what was best for Mimi, so they let her come back anyway. They still babied Mimi pretty much. 

"Why are you just sitting there?" Mimi asked. "School's over." 

"Well," Koushirou started as he stood up. 

"Mimi! Mimi!" a person called before Koushirou could finish. 

"Wait up, Mimi!" another person called. 

The girl turned to see two familiar boys, whom of which she knew pretty well, from her class running up to her. 

"Seki-kun, Yuuji-kun..." 

"Hi Mimi," Yuuji greeted. "I was just wondering if you would like for me to walk you home." 

"You?" Seki asked in surprise. "_I_ was going to ask if she wanted _me_ to walk her home!" 

"Don't you have detention or something?" 

"Me? _You're_ the one who gets the detentions!" Seki retorted. "Besides, Mimi _wants_ me to walk her home!" 

"No she doesn't, she wants _me_ to walk her home!" 

"No, me!" 

"Me!" 

"I said me!" 

The two boys continued to argue. Koushirou just stood there. Mimi just smiled at the two. 

"Boys, please don't fight." 

"Who do you want to walk you home?" Yuuji asked. "The handsome, wonderful me...or my annoying cousin!" 

"_Annoying_!?!" 

"A perfect description if I do say so myself..." 

"Why I oughta..." 

"I'm sorry you two," Mimi interrupted, "but Koushirou is goinog to walk me home." 

"Huh?" both Yuuji and Seki asked in unison. 

"I am?" Koushirou asked. 

"We better get going," Mimi said while giving Koushirou a smile. "I promised to get home to help Sué-obachan with dinner tonight." She grabbed Koushirou's hand and turned to both Yuuji and Seki. "Sayonara," she smiled at the two boys. 

She pulled Koushirou along out of the classroom, leaving a surprised Yuuji and Seki. 

"Izumi? Why would she rather walk home with him than with the handsome me?" Yuuji asked. 

"You probably scared her off," Seki joked. 

"Hey!" 

"Just kidding, cuz. I don't get Mimi. She's the most popular girl in school and one of the prettiest, yet she hangs out with Izumi all of the time." 

"They were never good friends before," Yuuji pointed out. "We've always had classes with them, even back in Elementary school. Mimi didn't hang out with him at all in fourth grade until after our summer break that year...back in '99. It's like they became instant friends after that." 

"I'm surprised they're still friends, actually; _especially_ since Mimi was gone for a couple of years." 

"I just don't get her," Yuuji said again while shaking his head. 

"We better get going. We promised my dad to help him out after school today." 

"Aww," Yuuji groaned, "I wanted to play a game of Tennis." 

"It's not like you're actually _in_ the Tennis Club." 

"That's only because I'm not good enough for the Tennis Club." 

"Better not let Mimi hear you say something like that. She'd persuade you to join in an instant and give you that speech about how you're good if you feel that you are." 

"Yeah, she always try to cheer people up like that." 

"What she says is probably true." 

"I guess, but I still wish I could play a game before I go." 

"Too bad, you promised to help me at pop's store, let's go!" 

"I'm coming, I'm coming..."   
****   
Walking in the hall... 

"So, what's the matter Koushirou?" 

"Nothing," Koushirou lied. 

"I know something is wrong," Mimi said, not at all persuaded that nothing was bothering Koushirou. 

"I'm just not up to doing this project, that's all." 

"Maybe you can get exempt from doing the project like me," the girl smiled. 

"_You _were exempt?" 

"Yep, sure am!" she said with a nod. "I talked with Ishidzuka-sensei while you were spaced out. Since my average for his class is a 92%, which is pretty much a B, he's letting me off." 

"But he said that it was mandatory!" 

"But I _can't_ do the assignment. My parents aren't here. That's why he's letting me off. He _did_ say that I could do something else if I still wanted the extra credit." 

"Maybe I _should_ talk to him." 

"Go right ahead, he's probably in the teacher's lounge." 

Koushirou nodded and the two headed in that direction. It didn't take them long to reach the door of the lounge. Neither Koushirou _nor_ Mimi had ever been in it. 

"Go ahead," Mimi urged. 

"Is it okay for me to just...go in?" Koushirou asked. "This _is_ a teacher's lounge." 

"Sure it is," Mimi insisted. "Miyako-chan goes in there all the time whenever she has a problem with any of her assignments and wants to speak to her instructor." 

The boy shrugged and thought, "But I'm _not_ like Miyako-kun." 

He then sighed and knocked on the door. He then entered with Mimi a little ways behind. To his surprise, he found Inoue Miyako, one of his best friends. He considered Mimi one too. Mimi and Miyako were his two best, current 'female' friends. Mimi was very good at cheering you up when you're down, and Miyako was good at giving a pep talk to get you motivated to do something. 

When he was younger, he would've probably considered his best female friend to be Sora since he had known her for such a long time and even before his adventure in the Digital World. Now that Sora was older and was busy with a various amount of other school related activities, he rarely even spoke with her. When he had entered his last year of Elementary and Sora entered her first year of Junior High, the two could never really talk or hang out together due to their different years; same went for his friend, Taichi, his best male friend, as well. Due to this, this resulted in Koushirou spending the majority of his time alone, until Mimi and Miyako both came along. 

"Hey Izumi-senpai, Mimi-oneesama!" the glasses-wearing girl greeted. "What are you two doing here?" 

"We're looking for our History Instructor, Mr. Ishidzuka," Mimi explained. "Have you seen him?" 

"Oh, he's in the kitchen drinking coffee." 

"Why are you here?" Koushirou asked. 

"Classroom duty this week. I needed some more cleaner for the desks." 

"You have Classroom duty all by yourself?" Mimi asked in surprise. "We've always been paired up. I'm glad I finished my week with Koushirou a while ago. I hate Classroom duty." 

"I hate it too, and I have a partner. His name is Tenichi Hirokumi. I just lost to him at Janken (Paper, Rock, Scissors) and had to get more cleaner." 

Miyako picked up the cleaner and the extra cloth. 

"Well, I better get going! I have to hurry up and finish if I want to meet up with Ken-kun and the others this afternoon." 

The girl headed towards the door, waving. 

"Sore ja!" she called as she ran off. 

After Miyako left, Koushirou and Mimi continued on to the kitchen. They found their instructor, just like Miyako had said said, drinking coffee, looking over some papers. Mimi pushed Koushirou along. 

"Um...konnichiwa, Ishidzuka-sensei," Koushirou quietly responded. 

The man looked up from his papers and looked over the rims of his glasses. 

"Ahh, two of my best students, Tachikawa and Izumi," the man said, pleased to see the two. 

Mimi smiled and Koushirou tried to speak, but he just couldn't. Mr. Ishidzuka noticed. 

"Is there a problem, Izumi-san?" 

"Well, um, I...er...about our assignment..." 

"Yes?" 

"Well, I was just wondering if, well, I could get out of doing it," Koushirou finally said. "Could I maybe be exempt, like Mimi-san here? I have an A average, a _low_ A average, but I've kept it this entire school year!" 

"Is there any particular _reason_ why you want to get out of this assignment?" 

"Um...no, not really," he said while lowering his head. 

"Then I can't allow you to get out of this assignment. Tachikawa's situation is different. She has special living arrangements and doesn't live with her mother and father." 

"Yes sir." 

"To be honest, I really _want_ you to work on this project," the man admitted. "I've seen projects similar to these that you've done in the past from previous years and they're all quite dull, Mr. Izumi. I've pulled up files on you going back to your second grade year and any type of an assignment dealing with family is dull. Only worth C material or lower." 

"That's why I didn't want to do the assignment, sir," Koushirou lied. 

"It seems that whenever your parents are mentioned in general, you seem to space out," Mr. Ishidzuka said while taking off his glasses. "Any assignment dealing with your family is never done with your full potential." 

"Yes sir." 

"Miss Tachikawa, on the other hand, has done _marvelous_ work in the past," the man complimented. 

"Thank you, sir," Mimi said with a smile. 

"I've pulled up files for the entire class, so don't feel as if I'm picking on you or singling you out, Izumi. Now, I want you to go work on this project and I want it to be A material!" 

"Yes sir," Koushirou responded as if the world was going to come to an end. 

Koushirou turned and headed out of the lounge with Mimi walking right behind him. 

"Hold on a moment..." 

The two stopped and turned to face him. 

"Izumi, since you really don't have a knack for this type of thing, I want you to have a partner." 

"A partner?" 

"Hai!" the man nodded. "I want Tachikawa to be your partner. She's the only one who's exempt from my assignment and she _did_ want to try some alternative project to replace this one." 

"I would be glad to help out, sir," Mimi said with smile. "I was just going to write a paper about what it's like living with my aunt and her family, but now I can help out Koushirou." 

"Good, now you two better get home and get some work done." 

"Hai, Ishidzuka-sensei," the two bowed. 

The two left to go on home, Koushirou frowning. His teacher noticed his frown and shook his head and headed towards his cell phone...   
****   
"That didn't do any good," Koushirou muttered as they left Odaiba Junior High. 

"Aww, Koushirou, stop worrying about it. I'm sure you'll do a good project on your parents, especially since I'm helping you." 

"Yeah, I guess," Koushirou said, not really believing her. 

"Okay, now when do you want to start the project?" 

"You know, I don't feel like talking about that right now," he sighed annoyingly. "Do you still want me to walk you home?" 

"Not if you're going to have a cranky attitude like that," Mimi frowned at him with her hand on her hip. 

"Look, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just have a lot on my mind, that's all. I'll walk you home." 

"Oh-kay," Mimi said slowly, "but you don't have to if you don't want to." 

"I don't mind," he insisted. "It's nice out and I don't have any meetings today." 

"Yeah, no Computer Club meet for you _or_ Miyako-chan today. Too bad the others are busy. Both Sora-san and Taichi-san have a Tennis _&_ Soccer Club meet today and Yamato-san has band practice. I _had_ a Volleyball Club meet today, but I asked to skip it just this once." 

"How come?" 

"I dunno," Mimi shrugged. "I _did_ promise to help out obachan today, so that's probably why." 

The two continued to walk, talking about everything they could think of, more than likely, about their other Chosen pals, but every time Mimi got on the subject of their project, Koushirou would change the subject quickly. Mimi gave up on trying to get him to discuss their project and came up with another idea. She knew Koushirou loved to eat and was going to use that to her advantage. 

"Here you are, you're home." 

The Nishimuras lived in a _big_ house which had two floors, a very large attic, and five bedrooms, one of which was a guest room, which meant that the family was pretty well off financially. Most residents of Japan lived in apartments since houses are quite expensive. 

Sué was a teacher and worked at Odaiba Kodomo Schoolhouse which was pretty much a preschool/daycare. Isako went to that school and Sué could watch Ton too so she didn't have to worry about hiring a babysitter to watch Ton during the day. Kichibei worked at an Insurance Company that had been around for years and made pretty good business. He was also just recently promoted. 

"Want to come in?" 

"Um...I don't think..." 

"I could make you a snaaaack," Mimi said in singsong with a smile. 

"A snack?!?" 

"Some nice ohagi," Mimi nodded with a playful smile. "We have some I made last night. I _know_ how much you love those and I got the recipe from the mother of Iori-kun. Miyako-chan told me how much you love those." 

*Note: In the first ep of 02, Koushirou (Izzy), Iori (Cody), and Miyako (Yolei) weren't eating 'browines,' they were eating ohagi. In the original, it's referenced that Iori's mother is a _very_ good cook.* 

"Ohagi?!?" Koushirou shook his head. "No, I have to pass," he said regretebly since he loved ohagi. "I better get on home to...mom." 

"Aww, too bad," she frowned. "I was going to try and get him to talk! So much for my plan," she muttered to herself. 

"Neechan!!" a person called, running up to Mimi. 

"Sister?" Koushirou asked. 

Mimi turned around and was attacked by a small four year old girl smothering her with a big hug. 

*Note: "Neechan" is one way of saying "sister" and I only used it that way since the girl is so young and the fact that Mimi _is_ family. Oneesama is another way of saying it. Miyako really respects Mimi, hence the -sama honorific, and sees her as a sisterly figure. It seems pretty common for younger children to refer to older ones as brother or sister. At one point, I think 01 Takeru was referring to Taichi as "brother." The ep where he thought Yama abandoned him and he only had Taichi around.* 

"Isako-chan, hi there," Mimi hugged the girl back. 

After getting out of Mimi's embrace, she turned to face Koushirou. 

"Konnichiwa niichan," Isako said to Koushirou with a bow. 

*Note: Niichan is one way of saying "brother" and apparently, Koushirou hangs out with Mimi quite a bit so the girl sees Koushirou as an older brother, like she sees Mimi as an older sister.* 

"She's so polite," Mimi smiled proudly. 

"Yes, she is. She's _very_ polite for a child her age," Koushirou complimented. He then turned his attention to Isako. "Hello there. How are you today?" 

"I'm doing great! I had a lot of fun today at school!" 

"That's nice, but I better get going. Bye Mimi-san. See you in school tomorrow. See you later Isako-kun. Say hello to your mother for me." 

"Sayonara, Kou-chan!" the girl waved. "I'll say hi to her for you!" 

The boy walked off to head towards the bus stop nearby to take the city bus home. Mimi stared at her redheaded friend, wondering what was the big deal about doing a project on your family... 

"I'm glad you're home neechan! I learned how to read a new book today in school! Can I show you?" 

"Of course, but after I help out your mother like I promised." 

"Okay neechan! Mommy's making pies!" 

The girl grabbed Mimi's hand and the two went into the house... 


	2. Surprising News for Koushirou!

Hey everyone. I hope that last part wasn't _too_ boring. I guess this fic falls under the "drama" genre. If you're wondering, no, there probably won't be any couplings, unless I change my mind as I write. I just write whatever comes naturally and that includes couplings. Oh, and here's a reminder, these are the Japanese grades and ages. Since the dub confuses me when it comes to ages, I decided to stick with the original ages. The ages of everyone in this fic is a year older than what they were in 02 originally. I swear out I heard that Joe was a Senior in HS for the 02 dub and sometimes I hear that he's in medical school for it. The ages and years were too inconsistent to even _bother_ using. 

Oh, btw, how do you like the family stuff I made up for Mimi? That was pretty tough, trying to make some stuff up. 

Oh, here's something else. I sorta used some names in the last part that I really didn't make up, Ueda Yuuji and Tomokazu Seki. I sorta kinda borrowed them. Tomokazu Seki is the seiyuu that voices Kenji (Tracey) in Pokemon--as well as other roles, like his work on Fushigi Yuugi--and Ueda Yuuji voices Takeshi (Brock). Oh, and I thought to use Ishidzuka because of Prof. Oak. The man that voices him is Ishidzuka Unshou. I know, not very creative, but I couldn't think of anything else to use name wise and I sorta liked the Pokemon connection with the three. ^^' Now, everyone else's names are made up and if they just happen to resemble the name of a real person, then it's a total coincidence. Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated with the show, games, manga, etc 

For those of you who forgot, here are the ages/grades again: 

Jou: 16 (Grade 10; First year of High School)   
Taichi/Sora/Yamato: 15 (Grade 9; Third and final year of Junior High)   
Koushirou/Mimi: 14 (Grade 8; Second year of Junior High)   
Miyako: 13 (Grade 7; First year of Junior High)   
Takeru/Hikari/Daisuke/Ken: 12 (Grade 6; last year of Elementary)   
Iori: 10 (Grade 4) *********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 2: Surprising News for Koushirou!

Koushirou walked slowly home to the same place he had lived in since the Hikarigaoaka (Heighton View Terrace) incident years earlier with his "mother" and "father." He really hated the idea of doing the assignment that his teacher had assigned. He was always up to a challenge, but stuff like that bugged him. His work was never satisfactory even to this day. He knew that everyone would discover his secret if he worked to his full potential on this project. A secret he never really purposely intended to keep. The only reason he kept it secret was because his own parents kept it secret from him. A secret that had been haunting him ever since he was that of a young child. Here he was, almost 15 years old, about to start his Senior year of Junior High, and his own parents kept an important fact about Koushirou secret from him. Of his not being their real son... 

"Mom, I'm home!" 

The boy closed the door and headed towards his room, but his mother stopped him. 

"Koushirou, wait a minute." 

The boy stopped and turned to face the woman who claimed to be his mother. He didn't hate them or anything. In fact, he loved this woman and her husband very much. They were the only parental figures he had in his life, but he still felt as if he didn't belong sometimes since he _was_ so different compared to his mother and father. Even the way he preferred his toast was different compared to that of his mother and father. They liked to use grape or strawberry Jelly or jam, or some good old Marmalade while he preferred Avacado flavored applesauce. (Is that combo strange enough for ya? *Everyone nods* Good, that's _just_ what I was going for. :-p) 

"Yes mom?" 

"Well, um..." 

"Is something wrong? You said something about going to the doctor today for a check up, is everything okay?" 

The woman shook her head. 

"You know what, this can wait." 

"Are you sure?" Koushirou asked with concern. 

"Yes, I'm fine," she smiled at him. "Just make sure to get yourself unglued from your computer by dinnertime." 

"Yes ma'am," he nodded. Koushirou started off towards his room again, but stopped abruptly. "Do you need any help?" 

"Oh no, not at all, but I made you a snack." 

She went to the kitchen and came back holding a tray. 

"Some nice onigiri and oolong tea, your favorites." 

"Thanks, mom," the boy said while taking the tray. 

"Just remember, don't drink too much of it. You know what happens whenever you do." 

"Yes mom," the boy said, a bit embarassed. 

The boy then went into his room and closed the door behind him, tossing his school books on the bed and setting his tray down. 

"I'll talk to Masami about Koushirou's behaviour and that phone call, but right now, I have more important things to worry about, like about how I'm going to tell Koushirou about this. About my trip to the doctor..." the woman said after Koushirou had gone to his room. 

She then sighed and went off to finish up dinner.   
****   
"Could you chop up these onions and carrots for me, Mimi?" a woman with dark, short hair asked. 

"Sure thing, Aunt Sué." 

The once sheltered city girl was now quite the cook and to her surprise, she enjoyed cooking very much, but she still didn't care for chopping up onions. Mimi didn't know anyone who actually did 

"Thank you _so _much, but don't chop too many onions," Sué warned. "We don't want the entire stew to taste like onion. We wouldn't have to worry about that if we had green onions." 

Isako was sitting down at the kitchen table coloring in one of her coloring books. She then looked up from her work and asked, "Doesn't that stuff hurt your eyes, neechan?" 

"Not if you cut the onion just right." 

The young 14-year-old girl walked over to the stove and turned it on. She then held the blade of the knife over the flame. 

"What are you doing that for?" Isako asked. 

"The fumes from the onion won't hurt your eyes as much if you cut the onion with a heated knife. Another way is to cut them under cool running water, but I prefer doing it this way," she explained. After she was done, she turned off the stove and started to chop up the onions that her aunt needed for her stew. "See, no tears, unless the onion is _really _strong." 

"Wow, I never knew that. Where'd you pick up that idea?" her aunt asked. 

"I don't remember. I probably saw it on television someplace. I watched a lot of television when I was in America." 

"I don't know how my brother and your mother do it," Sué said as she stirred to the contents in a big pot. " I don't think I'd last one _day_ there. I'd have to learn so much just to ask 'where's the bathroom.' Was it _really_ difficult for you to learn English?" 

"Yeah, at first, but my friend Michael helped me with it. He tutored me when we first moved there. That's the only thing I miss about America, him. We still keep in touch, though, through mail, e-mail, and by phone," Mimi said, adding the carrots and the onion to the stew while her aunt stirred them in. 

"It's nice to make good friends," the woman smiled. 

"Yep, it sure is." 

"Mimi, can you watch over this?" Sué asked while taking off her apron. "I have to go check up on Ton. I put him down for a nap. He should be getting up pretty soon." 

"Sure." 

Sué thanked the girl and took off, leaving Mimi and Isako in the kitchen. After Sué left, Mimi tasted the stew that she and her aunt were preparing. 

"This tastes good, but it could use a bit more pepper." The girl then sprinkled some pepper into the stew, stirring it in, and tasted it again. "Perfecto!" she smiled while giving the victory sign. 

"Mimi, how come Kou-chan looked sad today?" 

"Sad?" she asked while putting the lid back onto the pot. 

"Yeah, when I came out to see you, he looked sad." 

"Nothing much worth talking about." Mimi walked over to the oven to take out the pie so that it could cool. "He just doesn't want to do his school work." 

"Why?" 

"I don't know," she sighed. 

"Is it hard big kids work?" 

"No, it's easy work. We have to talk about our moms and our dads and our brothers and sisters." 

"That sounds like fun!" Isako clapped. "I could do that!" 

"I know," Mimi said. She then asked herself, "But _why_ does it bother Koushirou so much?" 

"Wow, something smells good in here!" a man sniffed while walking into the kitchen. "I'm glad that I didn't have to stay late today." 

"Papii!" Isako cheered as she ran up to the man, giving him a hug. 

"Konban wa, ojisan," Mimi greeted. 

"Hi girls," Mimi's Uncle Kichibei greeted. 

"Guess what, papii! I learned how to read a new book today and I can read it all by myself! It's real long too!" 

While Isako talked her head off to her father, Mimi smiled at the scene. She thought it was cute how Isako had learned to read her first book, even if the book _was_ pretty short, but for a kid her age, it would be considered long. After a while, Sué walked back into the kitchen holding Ton. 

"Hey, Isako, want to help set the table?" Mimi asked. 

"I'd love to, neechan!" 

The two set the table and they all sat down to eat dinner in the dining room...   
****   
Back at the Izumi's, in the kitchen... 

"So it's true?" Mr. Izumi asked. 

"Yep, it's affirmative, as Koushirou would say," Mrs. Izumi nodded with a small smile. 

"That's wonderful!" Mr. Izumi said while hugging his wife. "They sure did get those tests done quickly." 

"Yeah, they called early this afternoon with the results." 

"Modern technology is amazing." 

"But what about Koushirou?" Mrs. Izumi asked, her smile fading somewhat. "How do you think he'll take this news?" 

The man stopped cheering. 

"That's a good question." 

"It's just bad timing, I guess. First, I got that call from the doctor today, and then I got that call from his teacher." 

"We'll have to talk to him about that over dinner. His school work is more important." 

The woman nodded slowly and handed her husband a dish filled with shrimp and rice. 

"Go set this and the other dishes on the table," the woman instructed. "I'll go get Koushirou." 

Mr. Izumi noticed how upset his wife looked and tried his best to get her to calm down and cheer up. 

"Don't let this bother you. I'm sure whatever is wrong with Koushirou and this school assignment can be solved." 

"It's not that, it's the other thing," Mrs. Izumi said slowly. 

"He'll take it okay, I'm sure of it." 

"But how long can we keep it a secret from him? He's going to start noticing a change in me sooner or later. We should've told him a week ago when we first suspected it." 

"You're making a big deal over nothing." 

"I just still feel strange about this. I have this feeling that it may upset Koushirou." 

"You probably feel that way because you're his mother and---" 

"That's just it!" she interrupted. "I'm _not_ his real mother! Maybe _that's_ what's bothering me! I'm starting to feel guilty more day after day since we haven't told him yet." 

"There isn't any reason to." 

"There has to be _some_ reason! I guess I'm starting to feel awkward now that we know for sure since the doctor called." 

"We'll work everything out, don't worry," Mr. Izumi said with reassurance. 

"I guess," she muttered. 

The woman left the kitchen to go get her son while Mr. Izumi set the table. She walked slowly down the hall to the redhead's room, a bit worried. 

"Koushirou, dinner," the woman knocked. 

Koushirou jumped up from his computer and opened the door. 

"Are you okay mom? You look like you're a bit sick." 

"Don't worry, I'm fine." 

She then hugged Koushirou tightly. The boy was confused by her actions, but let her hug him anyway. 

"Koushirou, remember that I'll always love you and that you'll always be my son." 

The boy shrugged and nodded and walked to table and took his seat. Mr. & Mrs. Izumi took their seats as well. 

"This all looks good! You did a good job, mom." 

Mrs. Izumi gave the young redheaded boy a half smile, but Koushirou didn't notice. He had started eating. Both his mother and father stared at him and didn't touch their dinners. 

"Could you pass the juice, please?" Koushirou asked after finishing his drink. He then noticed his parents' plates and how they were still pretty much full. "What's wrong? You're not eating." 

"Oh, we're fine," Mr. Izumi said. 

"Are you sure?" Koushirou asked again. 

"Of course," the man said, passing Koushirou the juice he had asked for. 

The man was just about to talk about his wife's condition until she shook her head. He understood and started to ask Koushirou about school. 

"So, son, how was school today?" 

"It was okay," he said, pouring himself some more juice. 

"You should be getting some final projects assigned to you by now, right?" he asked. 

"Yeah, but it's the same old stuff." 

"What about History?" Mrs. Izumi asked. 

"I just have to write a History paper on any famous historical figure of my choice," Koushirou said quickly, surprised that he had thought of something so logical so quickly. 

"We won't lie to you, your teacher called me this afternoon. He said that you didn't seem up to doing your history project. Is this true?" 

The boy tried to come up with something, but his mind was blank. 

"Well...I'm just not into history too much." 

"We want you to do your best in school, not half of what you're capable of." 

"Yes sir. I'm sorry. I was just acting a bit smug since I already have a high mark in his class." 

Koushirou was feeling a bit nervous since his teacher had called. He had never had a teacher call home and give a negative remark about him. He was also wondering if his teacher had told his mother what the assignment was. 

"I guess that's understandable, but we want you to do every assignment that's assigned to you." 

"Yes ma'am." 

The boy started to eat again. It was still pretty quiet at the table, but Koushirou was drowned in his own thoughts. 

"I don't want to do this assignment. How can I do such an assignment when I don't _know_ about my 'true family'? I don't even know who they are. How can I pull this off? I don't want to seem ungrateful towards them. They've taken good care of me, but writing a paper about my 'true family' about them would be false information. What do I do? They don't want me to know I'm adopted, apparently, which is no surprise to me. If they did, they would've told me by now." Koushirou then sighed to himself. "_What_ do I do!?!" 

Koushirou looked over at his mother and felt that something was different about her. 

"I wonder what's with mom," he thought as he continued to eat his meal. "She just hasn't been herself lately. She's either cheery, which is normal with her, or either really emotional, like right before dinner. She's been a bit tired lately too, I've noticed. She's keeping something from me, I can sense it and it's not about my adoption." 

Koushirou decided to find out what was wrong with his mother. 

"Mom..." 

"Yes?" Mrs. Izumi asked while drinking some tea. 

"What happened at the doctor? You said you went today, but you never told me of your diagnosis. Is everything okay? Are you healthy?" 

"My, this rice sure is good," Mr. Izumi said, trying to change the subject. 

"Would you like some more, Koushirou?" Mrs. Izumi asked. 

"Huh?" 

"You know, I think I _just_ heard the phone ring," Mrs. Izumi said, trying to get the attention off of herself. 

"I didn't hear anything," Koushirou said, still trying to figure out why his parents were acting so strangely. "What's going on you two?" 

The couple stared at each other and nodded, realizing that they had to tell Koushirou their news. 

"You're right, something _did_ happen while I was at the doctor," the woman confessed. "I _did_ get a diagnosis for the tests I took today. I got the results this afternoon." 

"Oh no!" Koushirou said in alarm. "You're dying, aren't you? That's why you've been tired and depleted of energy lately!" 

"Calm down, son. Your mother is _not_ dying." 

"Then what's wrong with her? Why are you two so anxious over a doctor's appointment?" 

"How would you feel if another person moved in with us?" Mrs. Izumi asked slowly. 

"Okay, I guess, but what does that have to do with the doctor?" 

"Well, that's what's going to happen," the woman continued. "A child is going to be moving in with us." 

"Your doctor is a _child_?!?" Koushirou asked in surprise. 

The woman laughed at Koushirou's naiveness. It's like the most obvious hadn't even crossed his mind. 

"Oh Koushirou, you're so adorable," the woman smiled at him. 

"Huh?" Koushirou asked, still not understanding what was going on. 

"Your mother is going to have a baby, Koushirou," Mr. Izumi told him. "That's the 'child' who's going to be moving in with us." 

"_What_?!?" 

"You're going to be a big brother," Mr. Izumi told him. 

Mrs. Izumi got a bit teary eyed and said, "It's like a blessing, my having a child of my very own." 

"Excuse me?" Koushirou asked. 

The woman realized what she had said and covered it up very quickly. It was a natural reflex to say something like that. She really _hadn't_ "experienced" being a mother, except for the first child they had that died a short while after he was born. She thought of that a lot. She realized that if her baby would've survived, he would've been a little older than Koushirou. She didn't mean anything by the statement about her having a child of her "very own," of course, _or_ to offend Koushirou. 

"This is going to be wonderful, Koushirou," the woman said a bit nervously. "You're going to have yourself a baby brother or sister to bully," she joked. 

"A sibling?" 

"Are you okay?" Mr. Izumi asked, noticing the shocked look on Koushirou's face. 

"How did this happen?" 

"Weren't you paying attention during our talk a few years ago?" Mr. Izumi asked. 

The answer to that was literally "no" since Koushirou knew about it already before he even sat down to talk with him. Koushirou just nodded during the entire talk. 

"Sorry, rhetorical question," he muttered. He then stood up. "May I please be excused?" 

"But you haven't had seconds yet," Mrs. Izumi said. 

"I'm not all that hungry anymore. I think I should get started on my project. The sooner I start, the sooner I finish." 

The boy walked away from the table to his room and closed the door, still shocked that his mother was going to have a baby of her own... 


	3. Koushirou's Thoughts!

Here's part 3 for you. Enjoy folks and don't forget to leave those reviews and comments. I really appreciate those and that's what keeps me motivated to write. ^_^ I still don't know if I'm going to throw in any couplings yet, just to let you all know. I hope that the last part, as well as the one before, wasn't too unrealistic. Come to think of it, I hope the stuff dealing with Mrs. Izumi isn't too unrealistic in this part too. :~p Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters, etc 

Jou: 16 (Grade 10; First year of High School)   
Taichi/Sora/Yamato: 15 (Grade 9; Third and final year of Junior High)   
Koushirou/Mimi: 14 (Grade 8; Second year of Junior High)   
Miyako: 13 (Grade 7; First year of Junior High)   
Takeru/Hikari/Daisuke/Ken: 12 (Grade 6; last year of Elementary)   
Iori: 10 (Grade 4) *********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 3: The Thoughts of Koushirou...

"A _ba_by," Koushirou thought. "She's going to have a _ba_by?" 

The boy paced back and forth, thinking about all that was said at dinner. The one thing that stuck in his mind though, was what Mrs. Izumi had said..."It's like a blessing, my having a child of my very own." He felt a bit hurt by that statement, as if his "mother" was indirectly rejecting him. He didn't know if he should feel happy over the soon to be new addition or not. Old thoughts and doubts entered his mind that really hadn't for years in reference to his being adopted. 

The boy paced back and forth a bit more, pondering over the idea of a baby being in the house. He grew tired of pacing and felt that he should apologize for leaving the table so suddenly. Even when something upset Koushirou, if he acted unusual or a bit rashly over a situation, he would still apologize like a perfect, unselfish gentleman. Even though his reaction to his mother and father's news was pretty much normal, he still felt he had been rude and should apologize for leaving dinner so abruptly. He was also a bit hungry since he _did _leave without finishing all of his food and not having any seconds. 

"I guess I _could_ go and get me a bite to eat," Koushirou said while holding his growling stomach. 

When he walked down the hall, he overheard his parents talking, like he had before when he was little and heard them talking about his adoption. He was about to keep going until he heard them mention "the baby," which captured his attention, and peaked into the room. 

"This is so wonderful!" Mr. Izumi exclaimed. "I can't _wait_ for you to have this baby." 

"I can't wait either!" She held her not yet showing, pregnant tummy. "Only 8 1/2 months to go. I'm already two weeks along." The woman smiled. "Just 8 1/2 long months to go and I'll have a baby of my very own." She then giggled like a high school girl that just got asked out by the most popular guy in school. "I just can't _wait_!" Mrs. Izumi then hugged her husband. "Masami, I feel so much closer to you right now. Our very own child, who would've guessed!" 

"We have to come up with names for him." 

"_Or_ her," Mrs. Izumi added. 

"That's right," the man chuckled a bit. "Boy or girl, I'll love the child just the same." 

"How about I worry about girls' names and you worry about boys' names?" 

"Sounds fair to me." 

"And we both have to agree on the name that the other chooses." 

"Okay." 

Koushirou didn't stick around for the rest of the conversation and took off. To him, he felt as if they were disowning him. 

"How do you think things'll be around here, with the change?" Mrs. Izumi asked after Koushirou had left. "How do you think Koushirou will adjust to having a younger sibling? He really doesn't have much experience with younger children." 

"I'm sure he'll do fine," Mr. Izumi said confidently. "He's been around Hikari and Takeru when they were younger so maybe that'll help some and he also hangs out with Mimi at her aunt and uncle's house every now and then and they have two small children." 

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll make a great big brother." She then smiled. "As far as I'm concerned, Koushirou will always be my first born, and I'll always love him as if he were my very own son, even if I didn't physically have him." 

"I feel the same way. He's one great kid." 

Mrs. Izumi smiled and stood up. 

"Where are you going?" 

"I'm going to check on Koushirou. He left dinner pretty quickly."   
****   
Koushirou was now back in his room, sitting down on his bed thinking. 

"They don't want me. If they have a child of their own, they'll have a good reason to ignore and disown me. I've never seen mom so happy before, dad either for that matter." He sighed a bit. "I wonder what my _real_ parents are like and where they live." Something else then came to mind of the young computer genius. "I wonder why I was put up for adoption to begin with..." 

His thoughts were soon broken by the sounds of knocking. The boy asked who it was. 

"It's me, dear. Is everything all right? You didn't finish your dinner." 

"I'm fine mom. I was...um...just anxious to start my history project!" 

"Are you sure everything is okay in there?" 

"I'm fine mom. I think I'm going to head on to bed." 

"But it's so early. It's only 7:00." 

"Early to bed and early to rise makes the man healthy, wealthy, and wise." 

The woman smiled. 

"That's a good thing to go by. I'll leave you alone then, dear," the woman said, still on the other side of the door. "See you in the morning." 

"Yeah, okay. Oyasumi." 

Mrs. Izumi walked away from the door and back down the hall, Koushirou hearing her say, "Oh, I can't wait to have this baby," and a bunch of other things. He just sighed. 

Koushirou laid himself down and stared up at the ceiling, going back to his thoughts. 

"What do I do? They're ignoring me already and the baby hasn't even been born yet. Maybe I should move out or something so I won't get in the way. Maybe I should go find my," he paused for a moment, "_real_ family. I would hate to burden them with my being around. At least that way, they'll be able to spend even more time with their _real_ soon to be son or daughter--a _true_ Izumi..."   
****   
The Izumis were sitting down in the living room talking about going out for a small celebration along with Koushirou, if he felt up to it, until they heard a knock on their door. Mrs. Izumi hurried to answer it. She smiled when she saw who was there. 

"Hi everyone." 

"Hello Mrs. Izumi." 

At the door stood Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Miyako, and Mimi. 

"Is Koushirou around?" Taichi asked. 

"Yeah, he promised to hang out with us tonight at the new karaoke bar a little ways from here," Sora said. 

"Well, not new, just remodeled," Mimi corrected. "They just finished remodeling it. It looks really cool now." 

"Of _course_ it was the idea of Mimi-oneesama to go there and the only other person that went along willingly with her on the idea was Yamato-san," Miyako laughed. 

"Do you want me to waste my great singing talent?" Yamato asked. "I have to keep my singing voice fresh for my fans when I take a break from concerts." 

"I just like to sing," Mimi smiled. 

"So, is he coming?" Taichi asked, ready to leave. 

"I'm not so sure," Mrs. Izumi said, still smiling more than what she would normally. "He decided to work on his History project." 

"His _history_ project?" Mimi asked in surprise. "Why would he start without me?" Mimi asked herself. "I'm his partner." 

"You're in his class, Mimi," Mrs. Izumi started. "What historical figure did you choose to write your history paper about?" 

"Historical Figure?" Mimi asked, still a bit surprised. "Are we talking about the same assignment?" 

"Well, that's what he told us," Mrs. Izumi said. 

"What's wrong, Mimi-chan?" Sora whispered to Mimi. 

"I'll tell you about it later," she whispered back. "Can we see Koushirou now, Mrs. Izumi?" 

"I'll go see if he's willing to come out of his room. He didn't even finish dinner. He said he was anxious to start. C'mon in and have a seat. I'll go get him." 

"Thank you," the children told her. 

While the kids sat down, Mrs. Izumi went to check on Koushirou. She knocked on the door. Koushirou relunctantly answered. 

"Yeah, mom?" 

"I know you said that you wanted to work on your school project and then go to bed, but your friends are here to see you." 

"My friends?" Koushirou asked while opening his bedroom door. 

"Yes, they're here to fetch you." 

"Fetch me?" he asked in confusion. "What friends?" 

"Let's see, it's Taichi, Sora, Yamato, Miyako, and Mimi and they're here to get you to go with them to a karaoke bar." 

"I forgot all about that!" the boy said while smacking his forehead. "How in the world did I let them talk me into going to begin with?!?" he muttered to himself. 

"You should go talk with them. Your father and I are going to go out for a while so if you _do_ decide to leave, lockup and don't come home too late, it's a schoolnight." 

"Yes ma'am." 

"I'm sure hanging out with his friends'll be more interesting and fun for him than hanging out with us," the woman thought. 

The woman gave Koushirou a quick hug and walked back to where the kids were sitting with Mr. Izumi. 

"Okay, I'm ready to go now." 

"Okay," the man nodded while standing up. 

The two said "goodnight" to the kids and left. After they left, Koushirou walked in. They all said hi to Koushirou. 

"Hey guys," he greeted. 

"C'mon Koushirou, get ready to go," Taichi urged. "It's Teen Night there, no children under 13 allowed which means..." 

"Cute, single girls and we _all_ know girls love karaoke bars!" Yamato finished up. 

"Exactly my point my friend!" Taichi said with a grin. "It is our duty as Odaiba's best looking bachelors to show up so that all of the girls can run over to **_me_** with open arms." 

"_You_? They always run over to me." 

"Just a minor detail, my friend," Taichi corrected. "They really run over to you just to get to me." 

"Yeah right!" Yamato said, barking out a laugh. "They all come running to me. You can have the satisfactory girls, and I can take the extremely beautiful ones." 

Mimi, Miyako, and Sora rolled their eyes at both Taichi and Yamato and how they were acting. 

"I hope you two don't end up with any date at all," Sora said. 

"You're just jealous," Taichi teased. 

"Of what? You're nothing special," Sora said, adding silently in her mind, "but you _are_ nice and very cute." 

"To you, maybe, but to some girls, I probably am. No, correct that, I _know_ that I am!" 

"Oh brother," Sora sighed. 

"Work on your History Paper later, Koushirou," Taichi pretty much ordered. 

"History paper?" Koushirou asked. He then thought for a moment, realizing what Taichi was referring to. "Oh yeah, my paper! Wow, all that writing and researching really takes a lot out of you." He then put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously. 

Mimi gave Koushirou a semi-annoyed look and crossed her arms, staring right into his eyes, showing that she currently disapproved with him. 

"Yes, it can, if you actually _write_ one," Mimi said, slightly annoyed with her friend. 

Koushirou noticed Mimi's somewhat hostile tone, and look, and quickly changed the subject. 

"Um, maybe I'll go along afterall," he said quickly. "I _did_ promise to go." 

"Good," Miyako smiled. 

"Hey, why was your mother so happy this evening?" Sora asked. "I've seen her cheery before, but not _this_ cheery." 

"Yeah, like she just won a whole truckload full of money and is ready to go out and do some serious shopping type of happy," Taichi said. 

"Hmm, that reminds me, I have some shopping to do..." Miyako said to no one in particular. 

"Mr. Izumi seemed a bit happy too," Yamato recalled. "What's the deal?" 

"Never _mind_ that. Let's just go." 

The boy headed towards the door. Mimi noticed that Koushirou was avoiding any subject dealing with his parents just like their teacher had pointed out. This just left her more puzzled and curious. 

"What is his deal," Mimi asked herself, following behind her friends. 

The group then left and Koushirou locked up and they all headed towards the karaoke bar... 


	4. The Depressing Night at the Karoke Bar!

Here's another part for you and I hinted at a coupling! :-p I couldn't resist it. Something just told me to do it. lol Well, let me warn you now. This part _is_ a bit dull. They're just hanging out at the karaoke bar, nothing more. Time for the disclaimer so I won't get into trouble. I do not own any of these characters and/or places associated with the show, game, manga, etc. Toei has the rights to the show and Bandai has the right to the merchandise, pretty much.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 4: The Depressing Night at the Karaoke Bar!

It didn't take the group long, but they finally arrived at the karaoke bar. When they got to the bar, they ran into a certain glasses wearing boy, talking with a couple of friends. It was none other than the 16-year-old, slightly clumsy, Math & Science whiz, Kido Jou. He had promised to meet them there since he had to go someplace else before getting there. 

"Hey guys!" Jou waved to his younger friends. 

The boy introduced the gang to his two buddies from school. Jou was _still_ your typical nerd that studied constantly, but he was a bit more social and outgoing now and didn't sit in the house as much as he used to. Koushirou, on the other hand, was a different story. The older he got, the more antisocial he became, when comparing him to Jou. 

Jou pointed to a pretty, brown-haired girl beside him. 

"This is my American friend, Malissa Smith. She just recently moved here halfway through this schoolyear," Jou explained. 

"I'm very pleased to meet you all," the girl responded nervously. 

The 16-year-old girl was wearing a dark blue navy skirt, white ankle socks and black dress shoes along with a white, short sleeved blouse. Her outfit looked as if it could've passed for a school uniform, but it wasn't. She had her hair hanging straight down, but it wasn't plain and straight. It had a bit of body to it. The girl also always wore perfume. Mostly those that are associated with the sea. She really enjoyed activities dealing with water. 

Jou met Malissa just recently. She had just moved there with her family and enrolled into the same school as Jou. The entrance exam was _very _difficult for her since it wasn't just an entrance exam, but a transfer one too, but she got it. She's in a different class than Jou, but he sees her during lunch. He met her when he saw her studying one day in the Odaiba Public Library. He offered to help her study so that she could pass the entrance exams. After that, they became instant friends. 

Malissa is also tutoring Jou with his English just like he is with the Japanese. 

Jou then pointed to a handsome, dark-haired boy beside Malissa. 

"And this is my friend, Tezuka Eijiro." 

"Hello, Tezuka-san." 

"Call me Eijiro." 

Jou's 16-year-old best buddy was wearing a pair of plain, light blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers along with a dark red T-shirt. His hair was pretty long and he had it tied back. The boy was tall and slim, but not _too_ slim. He was the perfect size, to some. All of the girls at Jou's private High School thought he was incredibly handsome so getting dates for socials or dances was never a problem for Eijiro. 

Eijiro was not only one of the most popular guys Jou actually associated with at his school, but he's pretty smart too and scored one of the highest scores on the entrance exam for their school. High School Entrance exams are tough, but ones for private schools are even tougher and more challenging, but his score was almost perfect. Even Jou didn't get a score as high as Eijiro and he studied like mad to get into that school. 

Jou met Eijiro through his homeroom. They just happened to end up with the same homeroom together and both were very interested in science. With the way Eijiro acted and carried himself, you would've never guessed that he was a bit of a genius, not your stereotypical one anyway. 

"Let me introduce you to everyone, you two. The boy with the big hair is Yagami Taichi, a Senior at Odaiba Junior High. He's the star player of the Soccer Club and is one of the best players of the Boys' Tennis Club." 

"Of course!" Taichi smiled. "Practice pays off." 

"The blonde haired boy is..." 

"Don't tell me," Eijiro interrupted, sighing a bit in annoyance, "that's Ishida of the Teenage Wolves. My sisters have posters of him and his band all over their rooms and drive me crazy with their music...no offense." 

"None taken," Yamato said, not caring at all if Eijiro liked his band's music or not. "A younger friend of mine has an older sister who drives him crazy with our music since she's such a fan of the group." 

"Yeah, continuing on, the lavendar-haired girl with the glasses is Inoue Miyako, a first year at Odaiba Junior High and she's also the Vice President of their computer club. She's also very smart. Probably one of the smartest girls for her entire grade." 

"Arigabingo!" Miyako smiled proudly while giving the Victory sign. 

"The girl with the tan hair is Tachikawa Mimi and she's a second year at Odaiba Junior High and knowing her, she's probably the star everything," he said with a laugh. "She's a very skilled singer, that's for sure." 

"Thanks, Jou-senpai," Mimi smiled. 

"Hey, Tachikawa-san, how about you and me going out some time?" Eijiro asked, giving her a sly smirk which all the girls at his school loved. 

"I would be flattered to go out with a nice person such as yourself, but I don't know if I'm ready yet and you can call me Mimi if you'd like." 

"Are you sure? I _am_ one of the coolest guys in my school and a pretty, charming girl, such as yourself, would look nice being with a nice handsome guy such as _my_self and..." 

"Calm down, Eijiro!" Jou said, trying to get his friend to calm down. "She's still in Junior High!" 

"Hey, can't blame a guy for trying," the boy smirked. "She's one cute girl and she looks like she's al_ready_ ready for High School!" 

The glasses-wearing boy rolled his eyes, Mimi giggled and smiled at the compliment. 

_"Continuing_ on," Jou started while pointing to a girl slightly shorter than Mimi, "the girl beside Mimi-kun is Takenouchi Sora, a Senior at Odaiba Junior High. She's the star of the Girls' Tennis Club and their Soccer Club." 

"Pleased to meet you." 

"And the redhead beside Mimi-kun is Izumi Koushirou, a second year at Odaiba Junior High," Jou explained. "He's also President of their Computer Club." 

"Hi," Koushirou said dully. 

"Well, that's all of them," Jou finished up. 

"So, the redhead your boyfriend?" Eijiro asked. 

The girl blushed from the statement in nervousness. 

"My boyfriend?" She then smiled sweetly and said, "I'm sorry, you're mistaken. Koushirou isn't my boyfriend, he's just a friend." 

"Yeah, just a friend," Koushirou added on in that same dull tone of his from earlier. 

After Koushirou said that, it somewhat bothered him a bit, but he didn't know why. 

"I just figured that a nice girl such as yourself would have yourself a nice guy of course and Jou _did_ say that you guys were in the same year." 

"No, we're nothing more than friends," Mimi said again. 

"Good, now how about that date..." 

The others, minus Mimi who found the attention she was getting from the older boy somewhat flattering, sweatdropped from Eijiro's attempts, which didn't last _too_ much longer. The boy finally quit trying to ask Mimi out, which allowed Miyako to speak up... 

"Let's go get ourselves a place to sit." 

"Sounds good to me," Jou agreed. 

"And find some earplugs," Taichi said while holding his ears. "That person singing right now sounds _horrible_!" 

They all laughed went and sat down. After they sat down, Taichi started to look around. 

"Hey, where are all of the pretty young girls!?!" Taichi asked. 

"Hey, yeah!" Yamato said. 

"With _handsome_ young guys," Sora teased. 

Miyako gave Sora five and they both laughed at Yamato and Taichi. 

"Not funny!" Taichi said with streaked tears. 

"You sure do have a lot of friends, Jou," Malissa said. "I would've never guessed that you did. It's surprising that you're actually still friends with them considering the age difference. You all must have a very special bond in some way." 

"Well, we _are_ pretty closenet and they _are_ my best friends, outside of school that is. We all went to the same Summer Camp and were bunked together and we got to know each other." 

"So tell me, how long have you all been friends?" Malissa asked. 

Malissa said the entire thing in English. Her Japanese still wasn't too good--Malissa felt that it wasn't. Jou was about to translate for her, until Mimi spoke up, answering Malissa's question. 

"For a long time now." 

"What did she say?" Taichi asked. 

"She asked how long have we been friends and was surprised that Jou had so many friends." 

"Oh." 

"I'm sorry, my Japanese still isn't too good and I still get nervous when trying to speak it," Malissa said nervously in Japanese. "I understand it pretty well and I can read Japanese text and understand _that_ pretty well, but I still don't feel very confident about my speaking it yet." 

"Don't worry about it," Yamato told the girl. "You sounded okay just now. I understood you." 

"I did?" Malissa asked in surprise. 

He and the others nodded. 

"Thank you very much!" 

"How did you all meet anyway?" Eijiro asked. 

"Well, I know them through Izumi-senpai," Miyako explained. "I wasn't around that year when they were at Summer Camp." 

"Like Jou said earlier, we all went to the same summer camp almost five years ago and we were all bunked together," Taichi told him. 

*Note: It technically _would_ be almost 5 years because this story takes place a couple of years after 02 so the year is technically, early 2004...they're about finish up their grades, and we all know that 01 took place in 1999.* 

"Some of us knew each other before then though, except with my kid brother," Yamato explained. "He didn't know them and they didn't know him." 

"Just like what Yamato said, some of us knew each other before our encounter at Summer Camp," Sora explained. "Taichi and me were friends before we went to Summer Camp." 

"We have been since we first started school and back then, we both lived in Hikarigaoka (Heighton View Terrace) and went to Hikarigaoka Elementary. We both had the same first grade class. Our folks then moved to Odaiba and we just happened to end up together again in the same class and remained good friends." 

"We were also pretty good, I guess you could say, acquaintances with Koushirou-kun since he was in the Soccer Club with us when we were at Odaiba Elementary," Sora explained. "He played goalie. He really wasn't much of a talker back then, but the more he hanged out with Taichi and me, he started to open up a bit and he really proved us wrong during our summer together. He did have lots to say." 

"We just knew of Jou and the others when we attended Odaiba Elementary," Taichi added. "You know, we saw them around school and stuff, but we didn't really know them by name." 

"I only knew of Izumi-senpai because he was the President of Odaiba Elementary's Computer Club, but we became friends instantly. I pretty much met the others through him and the younger sister of Taichi-san and the younger brother of Yamato-san." 

"I knew of Taichi-san, Jou-senpai, Sora-san, and Yamato-san, but I wasn't friends with them or anything," Mimi explained. "I just knew that Sora-san and Taichi-san were the star athletes of Odaiba Elementary. I didn't know either one of them personally. Same with Yamato-san. 

"The girls of my class were always talking about the 'older, handsome Ishida-senpai,' but that was about all I knew about him. I had never actually _met_ him. Same with Taichi-san and Sora-san. I do admit, though, that I didn't know about Jou-senpai at all until Summer Camp, but I _do_ remember him walking around school with his nose always buried in a book. 

"I met Miyako-chan through the sister of Taichi-san, Hikari-chan, and the brother of Yamato-san, Takeru-kun. As for Koushirou, I've always had classes with him, we just didn't talk. I knew _of_ him since we always had the same classes, but we were pretty much like acquaintances than actual friends. When we _were_ bunked together, he was the only person I semi knew." 

Mimi thought for a moment and turned her attention towards Koushirou. 

"Did you ever attend the Hikarigaoka Beginner's School when the person running it was Suteki-obaasan? I don't remember ever seeing you." 

"Grandmother?" Sora asked. "She let you all call her Grandmother Suteki?" 

"Yep, she sure did," Mimi nodded. "We _all_ called her obaasan. She wanted us to. She sure was a nice old lady." She then turned back to Koushirou. "So, did you?" 

The boy turned to Mimi and asked what she had said since he hadn't been really listening. 

"I asked if you ever attended the Hikarigaoka Beginner's School when Suteki-obaasan was in charge of watching the children there. A young girl worked there too, her grandaughter, but I can't remember her name. Obaasan was a bit plump, had white hair, kind of short in height..." 

"Yeah, I used to go there before we moved to Odaiba and I remember obaasan," Koushirou recalled, remembering when he was actually happy and content with his life. "She used to always give us candy and thought of new games to play when you were good and I used to like how she read us stories before nap time." 

"Ooh, I remember her doing that!" Mimi exclaimed. "She used to act like the characters in the stories! I never could take my nap because I'd want to hear more of her stories!" 

"Thinking about it now, I think I _do_ remember seeing you there. You used to always play dress up and stuff with the dolls and always painted stuff pink and always _wore_ pink. I do remember a girl that sorta resembled you. It _had_ to have been you I saw there. You used to talk to everyone, trying to become friends with them, well the girl I'm thinking of did, and the hair color is the same, so maybe it _was_ you." 

"Really? I never knew that. I just remember you in my classes at Odaiba Elementary, not at the Hikarigaoka Preschool." Mimi then laughed a bit. "That _does_ sound like me, though. Talking to everyone and wearing lots of pink. I was obsessed with the color pink when I was a child." 

"Wait, so Mimi and Koushirou lived in Hikarigaoka too?" Malissa asked. 

"We all did at some point, actually," Jou told her. 

"Yeah, we all even lived in the same apartment building, yet we didn't know each other; well, except for Taichi and Sora and now we know that Koushirou always knew of Mimi, he just didn't know it," Yamato said. 

"And to make it weirder, when they _did_ move away from there, they all ended up in Odaiba after all that weird stuff happened over there back in '95. A lot of people moved after that weird incident," Miyako added. 

"That's why I didn't get to go to Hikarigaoka Elementary, my family moved before I could start first grade there," Mimi said. 

"I only went there for one year, when I was in first grade, then my folks moved," Taichi said. 

"Same here," Sora nodded.. 

"I was in second grade when me, my parents, and my two brotherss moved from Hikarigaoka. The move was tougher on my brothers than on me because they were in higher grades. Shuu-niisan had just started his first year at Hikarigaoka Junior High and Shin-niisan had just started his Junior year at Hikarigaoka High." 

"Man, what a history!" Malissa exclaimed in English. 

"It's amazing that you all are still friends after all of these years," Eijiro said, impressed. 

"Well, we all became _really_ close after all of our adventures in the---" 

The others, minus Koushirou who had gone back to his _own_ little dreamworld, gave Taichi a look, reminding him not to blab about the Digital World seeing as how not everyone knew about it. 

"---in the...camp that year. We learned to get along with each other and all that other good stuff," Taichi finished up with a nervous sweat drop. 

"That's pretty cool," Malissa said. 

"Okay, let's start karaokying," Taichi said. "Is that even a word?" 

"Not that _I _know of!" Jou laughed. 

"Save the _best_ singers for last!" Miyako said. 

"Don't hate me because I have such a wonderful voice," Yamato bragged. 

"Who says I was talking about _you_!" Miyako joked. 

Everyone laughed, minus Koushirou. Mimi noticed that he had a distant look on his face, as if he were in deep thought, but she decided to ignore it. She was there to have fun, not to worry about Koushirou. 

"Hey, why don't we song a song?" Eijiro asked Jou. 

"Senpai, you sing?" Miyako asked. 

"Well, um, yeah," Jou said bashfully. "I really like singing." 

"Isn't he a bad singer like you?" Sora whispered to Taichi. 

"Yeah, but...HEY!!" 

Sora giggled. 

"How about you and Malissa sing a song together," Eijiro suggested. "You two sound pretty cool together." 

"I don't know," Malissa blushed nervously. 

Everyone else gave out compliments, trying to urge Malissa to consider singing with Jou or even sing a song by herself. 

"Okay, I'll do it!" the girl said with determination. "You all have convinced me." 

The girl got up and went over to the big stage which was now vacant since the people who were singing before had finished. She picked a Japanese song she was semi familiar with and pushed the button for the music to play. 

"Ooh, I _love_ this song!" Miyako said while bopping her head to the music. "It's _Always_ by the idol, Kuraki Mai-sama!" 

"I really like it too, even if it is a bit old," Mimi said, "but I think her song _Perfect_ _Crime_ is cooler!" 

"I wonder if they have any songs by the J-rock group Glay or anything by Hikki (Utada Hikaru) for the karaoke choices," Sora said. 

Malissa did a good job and sang the entire song, not messing up once. When she was done, she bowed and everyone clapped for her. 

"That was great Malissa!" Taichi complimented. 

"Was there any doubt?" Eijiro asked. "The girl has a great voice." 

"Definitely!" Mimi nodded. She then turned to Koushirou and asked, "Don't _you_ think so?" 

The boy came back to reality and nodded as if he were supposed to. He hadn't heard her singing since he was too busy thinking other things over. 

"I don't think I can top that," Sora said nervously. 

"At least try," Taichi urged. 

"What should I sing?" 

"How about that song you're always listening to at school," Taichi suggested. "Something called _Shiny Days_..." 

"Good idea! I just hope it's up there for me to choose!" Sora thought for a moment and asked Taichi, "What made you think of that song anyway?" 

"I dunno," he shrugged. "It just suits you, I guess. Anything that's a slow song by Mizutani Yuuko reminds me of you." 

The girl nodded, walked up on the stage, and looked for the song _Shiny Days_ by Mizutani Yuuko. Luckily she found it. The girl sang every note perfectly and gracefully. Taichi could only stare at Sora admiringly throughout her entire performance. After the song ended, everyone clapped and Sora bowed. 

"I didn't think I sounded _that_ good." 

"Yep, you sure did," Yamato complimented. "Just like with Malissa, you didn't get one word or note wrong." 

"Thank you," Sora said with a blush. "How was that Taichi?" 

"Well, um...it could've been better," he teased. 

Sora playfull hit Taichi and sat down. 

Everyone else sang songs as well, alone and with the others. Yamato sang to the song _Walk on the Edge_, which was well known because of his band; Miyako sang to the song _Crash de Bingo_ by Natsuki Rio, Mimi sang to an old song called _Himawari_ sang by AiM, and Taichi sang a song called _Atarashii Taiyou_. Mimi, Sora, Miyako, and Malissa then sang to an older song called _Koi wo Shichaimashita_ by Tanpopo, and Jou, Yamato, Eijiro, and Taichi sang to an old song called _Yuuwaku_ by the JRock band GLAY. 

A lot of other people from other groups had come over and also cheered for them. They all had decent singing voices and to everyone's surprise, Jou wasn't half bad. He really sounded pretty good and he _did_ say that he enjoyed the idea of stardom and singing, which was a surprise to everyone since he was such a study hog. 

*Note: In the 01 Drama, Jou ga Kashu Debut!? (Part 1/Part 2), Jou shows that he has a great interest in music and singing in general, sort of. After a battle, everyone, minus Taichi and Sora since they didn't even seem to be there, complimented Jou on a job well-done, minus Koushirou who gave kind of a sarcastic remark. A woman then comes up to him and asks if he wants to become an "idol" and sing. He's excited about that and does...his 01 theme. The woman then disappoints poor Jou by saying that the request wasn't for him, but one for Koushirou and Mimi, and maybe Hikari. They wanted a drama including those three, which they do end up having. It's based on a loveletter written by Koushirou and everyone thinking that it's for Mimi.* 

"That was cool you guys!" Sora said after everyone had finished singing. "Everyone sang a song, didn't they?" 

"Mimi and I never got to sing our duet," Yamato reminded everyone. 

"I wouldn't mind singing with you guys again," Mimi said. "Hey, how about Taichi-san and Jou-senpai too! We could all sing, _I Wish_!" 

"You'd need at least two other girls to help even that out with the harmonizing, you know," Yamato pointed out. 

"Okay, how about this. Me, Jou-senpai, Taichi-san, and Malissa too." 

"I know that song that you are referring to," Malissa said. "It's a favorite of mine too." 

"I always thought of the song _I Wish_ as a solo type song," Yamato said. 

"You know, you're right," Mimi said, agreeing with Yamato. "How about _Keep On_?" 

"Perfect!" Sora agreed. 

"I had fun singing with you, Sora, and Miyako, Mimi," Malissa said. 

"Yeah it was, that's why I want to do another group song!" Mimi smiled. 

"Wait, Izumi-senpai didn't sing," Miyako announced. 

"Huh, wha?" 

"C'mon and sing a song," Eijiro urged. "You have to have _some_ song in mind." 

"No, not really," Koushirou muttered. 

"C'mon Izumi-senpai, sing a song. How about a computer related song or better yet, how about singing that song _Version Up_? I know you like that song and every time I visit you, you're playing that or either _Open Mind_." 

"I'd rather not." 

"Please?" Mimi asked. 

The boy shook his head. 

"Aww, you're no fun," Miyako frowned. 

"I'm sorry about that," the boy said while standing up. "I think I'll go now. It's getting late and I wanted to get to school early in the morning." 

Nobody tried to persuade him to stay and waved him off. After he left, everyone started to talk. 

"He sure is acting weird," Miyako muttered. 

"Yeah, weirder than usual," Yamato agreed. 

"He's the _only_ person I know who has no interests other than staying at home on his computer!" Taichi complained. "He doesn't even acknowledge girls!" 

"Not _all_ people are as loud and obvious as you, Taichi," Sora pointed out. "Besides, even _if_ he had an interest in girls or one in particular, he wouldn't be obvious about it. This is _Koushirou_-kun we're talking about here!" 

"Good point," Taichi agreed. 

"Hey, Mimi-chan, why were you surprised tonight when Mrs. Izumi asked about the history project of Koushirou-kun?" Sora asked. 

"Oh that? Never mind." 

"Your friend sure is strange, running off like that..." Eijiro muttered. 

"What in the _world_ is his problem?" Mimi once again asked herself. 


	5. Koushirou's Discovery!

To be a Mishirou/Koumi fic or not to be a Mishirou/Koumi fic, that is the question. lol I really don't know if I want them paired up together or not for this fic, even though I _love_ the coupling to death! This is _definitely_ my favorite Mimi pairing. Well, that's not important. I hope you enjoyed the last part. It was a bit on the dull side if you ask me. I just wish I were a bit more organized when it came to my writing like arpulver. 

Arpulver is _very_ organized and if you haven't already, I advise you to read their fic Odaiba Memorial Day. It's an _excellent_ well-written fic and it's _very_ realistic. It's 20 years later, after the defeat of Vamdemon (Myotismon) and Iori (Cody) wants to have a get together with his old Digidestined friends, whom of which he hasn't really kept much contact with within the past 10 years. That's when they all last saw each other, 10 years ago. 

The problem is that not everyone wants to go to this gathering because of the different problems they're all having or have had within those years with the others. For example, because of something that happened in the past, Koushirou doesn't want to have anything to do with Ken _or_ Miyako. Well, actually, Koushirou's the only character in this story that doesn't give a crap about seeing anyone, Miyako and Ken is just his main reason for not wanting to go. 

So far, the only characters that didn't really have any problems that would affect their not wanting to go are, Daisuke, Takeru, and Hikari. Iori is the one who's sending out the invites. It's the older kids that are having the problems. That's another reason why I'm late putting this up, rereading his entire fic to keep myself caught up and prepared for the next chapter!! ^^' 

I know you all are probably thinking that I'm weird for writing about another person's fic, but I really feel that this is a great story and that everyone will enjoy it. No character bashing, everyone is portrayed equally and everyone is pretty much _in_ character, until they reached adulthood and their views change, which is about as realistic as one can get! No folks, A R didn't ask me to promote the fic or anything, I'm doing this all on my own and I hope some of you decide to read it. It's _very_ interesting! ^_^ 

Okay, enough of my blabbing. Well, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places normally associated with the show, game, manga, etc.   
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Part 5: The Discovery of Koushirou!

It didn't take him long, but Koushirou managed get back home. He just wasn't in the mood for socializing, which was pretty much constant now; even _before_ his teacher gave him the assignment. 

The boy walked over to the fridge to get himself a bite to eat. He was still hungry. He made himself a quick sandwich and opened up a can of soda. 

"What do I do?" Koushirou asked himself as he took a bite out of his sandwich. "They're having a baby, a baby of their very own. They're going to have a _real_ child now. A _real_ child of their own." He put down his sandwich. "So where does that leave...me?" 

The boy gobbled down the rest of his sandwich and headed towards his room. He sat on the bed, trying to think again. He wasn't there for long, though. He heard a knock at the front door. 

The boy got up and muttered to himself, wondering whom it could be bothering him at this time of night. It was already after 10:00. Since the boy was in one of his moods, he didn't even bother asking who it was _nor_ did he bother to look through the peephole. He just opened the door. 

"Mimi-san?" 

"Hi Koushirou." 

The boy was surprised to see Mimi at his front door. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"Can't I come by and visit if I want?" 

"I guess," he said slowly, still a bit surprised that Mimi had come to visit him at such an hour. 

The boy didn't want to seem rude so he invited Mimi in and closed the door behind her, locking it. Mimi walked in and took herself a seat down on the couch. Koushirou walked to the room with the couch and leaned his back against the wall. 

"So, what's wrong?" 

"Oh, nothing. I was just a bit concerned about you, that's all. Miyako-chan was going to come over too, but she had to get home. Her brother picked her up and he had to hurry up and get back home." 

"Well, I'm fine." 

"No you're not!" Mimi scolded. "What is wrong, Koushirou! Why have you been so quiet lately? You've been more quiet than usual! You were a total drag tonight at the bar and what do you have against your parents? And speaking of parents, _when_ are we going to start our assignment and when are _you_ going to stop lying about what the project is to your parents!" 

"I told you, I'm fine!" 

"Even when we were kids I could tell when things bothered you but I never made an attempt to try and get you to open up! Maybe because we weren't as good friends back then, but I feel that we are now. It's not good to hold things in, Koushirou. It just makes you irritable and cranky!" 

"I am _not_ irritable and cranky!!" 

"See what I mean!" she tsked. "Now, what's the matter?" 

"Nothing, okay! I'm just trying to think of how we can do this project, that's all." 

Koushirou was lying, yet he wasn't. He technically _was_ trying to think of a way to do his project, but he wasn't at the moment Mimi had asked him. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, I was just worried of not working up to Ishidzuka's expectations," he said nervously. 

"You aren't lying to me, are you?" 

"No, of course not!" 

"Okay," the girl smiled. "So, what do you want to do now?" 

"Do now?" 

"Do you want to get some of the work done tonight?" 

"You know, I'll just wait on that. Would you like something to eat or drink?" 

"I'll take some of your mom's yummy lemonade if she has any!" Mimi told him. She then looked around. "Where _is_ she anyway?" 

"Her and dad aren't back yet," Koushirou shouted to her from the kitchen. 

The boy poured the glass of lemonade and walked back into the room with the couch...the same room that Koushirou overheard his parents talking in years earlier about his adoption. 

"You mean we're alone?" 

"Yep, seems so," Koushirou said while handing Mimi the glass. 

"Oh." 

The girl sipped the lemonade and smiled. 

"Thanks," she said as she sat the glass down on the table. "Take a seat, Koushirou-kun. All I want to do is talk for a while." 

"Okay," Koushirou shrugged. 

He sat down opposite from Mimi, making himself comfortable. 

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked her. 

"Your parents." 

Koushirou rolled his eyes. Mimi noticed this, but dismissed it. 

"What about them?" 

"Is everything going okay with them?" 

"Yeah, everything is fine. Why do you ask?" 

"I'm just wondering why you seem so...I don't know, hostile towards them. I noticed it when we left this evening." 

"Well, um, I was just overwhelmed by the paper I'm writing!" Koushirou said with a nervous grin and laugh. 

"Koushirou, that's not funny!" she scolded. 

The boy's grin faded. 

"Since she's my partner for this assignment, I'm going to _have_ to tell her sooner or later that I'm really adopted," he told himself. 

"What's going on? It's better to talk about things that are bothering you than to keep them bottled up inside. Does your attitude have anything to do with why both your mother and father left here so happily this evening?" 

Koushirou was a rotten liar and Mimi, as well as Miyako, knew it. Taichi also could normally tell when Koushirou was fibbing. The boy knew he wouldn't be able to make up anything _believable_ so he decided to stick with the truth. Besides, he knew that his mother was going to start showing sooner or later, unless she lost the baby really early in the pregnancy, but he didn't want to think of such things. Thoughts like that made the young computer whiz feel selfish and he was surprised that he had even thought of such a thing. 

"Yeah," he nodded slowly. 

"I _knew_ it! What's wrong with them? Why is their being happy upsetting you so much?" 

The boy took his time before answering. 

"Koushirou?" 

"Well, my mother went to the doctor today. For the past week or so, she had been feeling tired, having strange emotional episodes, like one minute she's happy and then she's really sad the next, and she had been eating a bit differently lately too. She got her diagnosis today." 

"Oh my gosh!" Mimi squealed in excitement. 

"What, what?" Koushirou asked, surprised by Mimi's sudden outburst. 

"Your mother is going to have a baby! This must be _so_ exciting for you! You're going to have yourself a baby brother or sister!" 

"Yeah, exciting," he muttered. 

The girl noticed the unenthusiased tone that Koushirou had used. She was puzzled as to why. 

"What's wrong? Why are you upset over them having a baby?" 

Koushirou stood up abruptly. 

"Mimi-san, I think you should get going," he said, changing the subject. 

"But..." 

"It's almost 11:00 and I really shouldn't be having company this late." 

"But, why is having a baby such a big deal to you? I thought that you of _all_ people would enjoy having a brother or a sister." 

"I'll tell you about it later, I promise," he told her. He then muttered, "I don't have much of a choice..." 

The girl could only shrug. She didn't understand what the big secret was and why he was having such a difficult time accepting the fact that his folks were going to have a baby, but she _did_ believe in Koushirou when he said that he promised to let her in on what's going on and what's bothering him. One thing Koushirou was known for, as well as Iori and Jou, was their honesty and they always kept their promises. One trait she always found becoming in a person. 

"Okay," Mimi finally said. 

Koushirou walked Mimi to the front door and saw how dark out it was. 

"Do you want me to walk you home?" he offered. "It's the least I could do for you since you came over to see how I was. You didn't really have to, you know." 

"I wanted to," she smiled at him. "That's what friends are for." 

"Let me go get my jacket and then I'll take you home." 

"Okay." 

Koushirou ran to his room to get his jacket, but then remembered that his mother had sent it to the cleaners for its weekly cleaning. Earlier that evening he didn't wear his jacket, only a thin long-sleeved shirt, but it was a bit cooler out now. He was considering wearing his typical green uniform jacket, but decided against it. His shirt was thin, but not _that_ thin. His uniform jacket was pretty heavy and thick. 

Koushirou then decided to put on his old "playcoat." He normally only wore this thin coat whenever he couldn't wear his other one, but it rarely came up for him _to_ have to wear it. His mother normally kept it in the hall closet, a place he ever rarely went to. The closet was used mostly for storing cleaning materials and papers, but his jacket was probably in there. He opened the door and looked through the closet for his jacket. It had been about a year since he had even seen it last. 

"I hope it's still here and that mom didn't throw it out," he muttered as he searched through the closet. "I hope it actually still fits!" 

Koushirou looked up on the top shelf and saw a sleeve hanging down from it. He recognized the sleeve. It belonged to his jacket. He stood up and reached up for it. Lucky for him, he didn't need to use a ladder or a step stool to get to it since he had grown quite a bit within the last year. He was a _tiny_ bit taller than both Mimi _and_ Miyako now and those two were always the tallest girls out of the Chosen group. He was still the shortest guy out of the group, not counting Iori. 

He saw that on top of his jacket sat a box filled with different papers. He moved them aside and picked up his jacket and put the box back, just not all of the way. He slipped on the jacket, which still fit him, only it wasn't as long as it was when he wore it last since he was taller now. 

"Okay, I found my jacket," Koushirou announced. "I'm ready to go!" 

"Okay!" Mimi called to him from the door. 

Koushirou started to close the closet door when he heard something drop. It was the box he had put back on the top shelf in the closet. He didn't push the box on the shelf all the way. He started to pick up the papers and the box, until one paper caught his eye. He read the title of the letterhead on the paper... 

"Hikarigaoka _Adoption_ Agency!?!" 

Mimi walked up to see what was keeping Koushirou. 

"Koushirou, what's wrong?" 

The boy took the papers and stuffed them back into the box fast and put them back on the shelf quickly after Mimi had called him. 

"Clumsy me," he said nervously. "Well, let's get going," he said as he closed the closet door. 

"Huh? What?" 

"We better get going," Koushirou said again, holding Mimi's shoulders, pushing her along. 

Koushirou led Mimi towards the door so that he could walk her home and hurry and get back. Those papers could have the answers to the questions that he had been wondering about for the past 11 years of his life... 


	6. Koushirou's Surprising Origin!

Hey again everyone. I hope you're enjoying this so far. I know I'm enjoying writing this. Hmm, I'm _still_ trying to find a way to put in Hikari, Takeru, Ken, Daisuke, and Iori. My mind is a blank on how to get them in here. I would hate to write a Digimon fic using the Adventure characters and not have them in here doing _some_thing. It's worse enough I'm not using the children's Digimon partners. I already found a way to get in Jou, Sora, Miyako, Taichi, and Yamato, whom of which you've read about already. lol 

Well, I'll probably think of something. BTW, don't sweat it if you can't read this right away. I know everyone is back in school now. I'm just one of those lucky ones who doesn't start back to school 'til the second of October. ^^' I'm also not sure if I want this to end up being a Koumi/Mishirou fic or just a Koushirou/Mimi friendship fic or not, yet. Who knows, maybe I'll make it a onesided Koumi one. ::shrugs:: Who knows, right? I just write whatever comes to mind. ^_^ Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated with the show, the game, the manga, etc.   
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Part 6: The Surprising Origin of Koushirou!

It was now later on that night and Mimi had gotten home, thanks to Koushirou. She was now talking on the phone with a couple of familiar friends... 

"Thanks for calling me, Sora-san, Miyako-chan..." 

"No problem," Sora told her friend. 

"It's cool how your aunt and uncle have three way and if we get another call, we can put that through too!" Miyako exclaimed. 

"Yeah, it is," Mimi smiled. "It was a present to me for being such a well mannered house guest and for being such a good help to them with Ton and Isako, and for also making good grades this term." 

"So, how was Izumi-senpai when you went to visit him?" 

"He was acting _totally_ weird, you two!" 

"In what way?" Miyako asked. 

"I found out why his parents were so happy." 

"Is that what's affecting the mood of Koushirou-kun?" Sora asked. 

"Yeah! The thing that puzzles me is _why_ Koushirou is acting like this!" 

"What's the news?" Miyako asked. 

"Is it bad news or good news," Sora asked, adding on to the question. 

"It's normally considered good news to the average person." 

"If it's good, how come Koushirou-kun is so edgy over it?" 

"She _did_ say that this is good news to the _average_ person, and Izumi-senpai is nowhere _near_ average, let alone normal," Miyako joked. 

"Aww, c'mon Miyako-chan," Sora laughed. 

"Just kidding around." 

"So, Mimi-chan, if this news is so good, how come he is acting so peculiar and edgy?" Sora asked. 

"I don't know. I tried to get that information out of him, but I didn't get any; I just figured out what's bothering him, not exactly _why_ it's bothering him." 

"Hey, don't leave us in suspense! Tell us what the news is!" Miyako urged. 

"So it _doe_shave to do with the parents of Koushirou-kun..." 

"Yeah..." 

"But they were so happy when they left today, but Izumi-senpai wasn't. I wonder what their news is..." Miyako said, hinting that she really wanted to know. 

"Mr. & Mrs. Izumi are going to have a baby!" 

"Are you sure!?!" Miyako asked, her eyes going wide from the exciting news. 

"Koushirou didn't deny it when I guessed, so it must be." 

"Kakoii! (Cool!)" the other two girls exclaimed. 

"Not really, remember how Koushirou was acting?" 

"Oh yeah," Sora started, remembering how Koushirou acted when they had gone to fetch him for the night. "He didn't look as happy as they did when we picked him up this evening." 

"Oh yeah, that's right," Miyako muttered slowly. 

"Wait, did he actually _say_ that them having a baby is what's bothering him?" 

"He didn't come right out and say it, but he hinted that it did." 

"I always thought that he would enjoy having a brother or a sister, but I guess I was wrong," Sora said. 

"Maybe he's been an only child for _so_ long that he's gotten used to it and would like to keep it that way." 

"I always wished I had a brother or a sister, but living here with my aunt is enough for me. Both Isako and Ton are like the younger sister and brother I never had. I really enjoy it. I wonder why _my_ parents never had any other children." 

"Maybe one of you was enough for them," Sora joked. 

"Very funny!" Mimi laughed. 

"There's only _one_ Mimi-oneesama!" 

"You got _that_ right!" Mimi said with a smile. 

"I always wondered what it would be like to be an only child, but after a while, I would _definitely_ go nuts," Miyako told the two older girls. "I guess it's because I've gotten so used of having Mantarou-niichan, Momoe-neechan, and Chizuru-neechan around. I wouldn't trade them in for the world, no matter _how_ much they drive me crazy." 

"Look on the bright side, Miyako-chan, at least you're the youngest of your family," Sora pointed out. "Pretty soon, the entire place is just going to have you in it." 

"I guess," Miyako said. "Oniichan has moved out, he's living on campus, but Chizuru-neechan is still here and Momoe-neechan too. Momoe-neechan is in her senior year in High School and Chizuru-neechan is in her senior year in Junior High, just like you, Sora-san. Hey, do you have any classes with her?" 

"Nope, I don't have any classes with her. I only see her during our lunch break. Yamato might, though. I have the same homeroom as Taichi, not Yamato." 

"I forgot that. I think I _do_ remember her mentioning having Yamato-san in her class and the girls acting all goofy over him..." 

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but what about Koushirou-kun?" 

"Well, there isn't much we _can_ do about him, Mimi-chan," Sora told her. "If he wants to act all stubborn and spoiled about his mother having a child, then we can't stop him." 

"But we _can_ find out what he has against their having one," Miyako said. She was about to add more on to what she had said, when she heard a beep. "Hold on you guys, I have another call." 

Miyako checked her other call while both Mimi and Sora talked. 

"I guess Miyako-chan is right, you too, Sora-san." 

"I wouldn't worry too much." 

"Hey guys!" both Mimi and Sora heard a voice say. 

"Who is that?" Sora asked. 

"You guys don't recognize her voice?" Miyako asked. 

"Hikari-chan..." Mimi said, identifying the caller. 

"Yep," Hikari said cheerfully. "Miyako-san put me through. So, what's going on?" 

"Nothing much," Sora told her. "We're just talking about Koushirou-kun." 

"_Kou_shirou-san? You guys are talking about Koushirou-san?" the younger girl asked in surprise. "I thought you all would be talking about some cute guys from the High School or something." 

"Actually, I'm a bit concerned about him." 

"What's wrong?" 

"He's been acting a bit weird lately and Mimi-oneesama found out why." 

"I think I remember oniichan mentioning something about him acting weird, but that's normal for him. As far back as I can remember, he's _always_ been a bit weird." 

"He is _not_ weird!" Mimi said defensively. "He's just, um, unique, that's all." 

"I guess that's a better description than weird. You're right," Hikari said. "So, what's wrong with him?" 

"Izumi-san is going to have a baby," Sora explained. 

"Ooh! How cute!" Hikari exclaimed. "I wonder what they're going to have! A boy or a girl!! What does Koushirou-san hope for? A baby brother or a baby sister?" 

"That's the problem," Mimi frowned. "He isn't all that thrilled about his parents having a baby at all." 

"What? Why?" Hikari asked in surprise. "Babies are so cute!" 

"That's just the thing, we don't know," Sora said. 

"I intend on finding out if it _kills_ me and this history project of ours'll be the perfect opportunity to." 

"How?" Miyako asked. 

"Yeah, I thought you guys had to write a paper or something," Sora said. 

"No, actually we got partnered up to do a research type of project. I was just surprised this evening when he said he had already started. Anyway, what's up with you, Hikari-chan?" 

"Daisuke-kun and Takeru-kun! They're driving me nuts with the way they're always swooning over me!" 

"Isn't that cute," Miyako mocked with a snicker. 

"No, it's not! I like them both, but not when they're acting all lovesick over me...even though Takeru-kun doesn't all _that_ much." 

"So, what exactly are they doing that's annoying you?" Sora asked, trying to understand the younger girl's situation. 

"Nothing much, I just hate the fact that they swoon over me." 

"I can't relate to what you're going through. I've never _had_ boy trouble!" the glasses-wearing girl cried. 

"Quit crying, Miyako-chan!" 

"Who says I'm crying!" Miyako asked Sora. 

"You _always_ cry whenever someone mentions having a boy problem." 

"Ehehehe," Miyako sweat dropped. 

"Well, do you like either one of them romatically?" Sora asked, trying her best to assist Hikari. 

"Um, well, I er..." 

"She _does_!!" Miyako exclaimed. 

"Ooh, interesting. Who?" Sora asked. 

"Never _mind_ which one," the girl said with a blush. "I'd rather not say which I like. You guys have fun trying to figure it out." Hikari paused momentarily before continuing on. "Well, actually, I don't want to hurt the other one's feelings. That's what my _real_ problem is. I was hoping to get some advice from Miyako-san, since I'm starting to feel a bit guilty for toying with their emotions, but then I found out that she was talking with you and Mimi-san so I asked to join in on the conversation to get advice from you guys too." Hikari scratched the back of her head. "I guess what I'm _really_ asking is how do I let the other one down without hurting his feelings?" 

"Oh, that _is_ a problem. What do you think, oneesama? You're probably the person to ask with this kind of a problem." 

"Of course, she's the boy expert and she's had _how_ many boyfriends?" Sora asked in a sarcastic, joking manner. 

"It's strange how she's the most knowledgable when it comes to boys, yet she's never dated herself!" Miyako laughed. 

"Neither have I," Sora reminded her. "I don't know _why_ Hikari-chan would want any advice that I may have." 

"Well, you all _are_ older than me, so you might." 

"So, what do you say, Mimi-oneesama?" 

Everyone awaited a response from Mimi, but only got silence. 

"Mimi-oneesama?" Miyako called again. 

"Oh, huh? I'm sorry, I was just thinking about Koushirou. I'm still worried about him." 

"Maybe we all should call it a night. It's getting pretty late and Hikari-chan, don't you have to get up early? You're still in Elementary school." 

"_Sora_-san!" Hikari laughed. "You're worse than kaasan!" 

"Why didn't you just call earlier?" Miyako asked. 

"Because oniichan was on the phone talking with some of his friends. Time he got home he got on the phone. He just got off when he tried to call Sora-san and couldn't get an answer." 

"Oops, so _that's_ why the phone beeped, Taichi was trying to call." 

"Yep, when he hanged up, he muttered something like, 'I wonder where Sora is.'" 

"Any idea what he wanted?" 

"No, not really, but he actually looked like he was kind of nervous, but relieved at the same time when he didn't get you," Hikari explained. "I don't know why he would be nervous. You two have been friends for years, just like I have known you for years, Sora-san." 

"That's true. Maybe he's having trouble with a homework assignment and is too embarassed to ask me for help." 

"Maybe," Hikari said, thinking over what she had said. 

"You know what guys, I'm pooped," Mimi told her friends. "I'm going to head in like Sora-san suggested. If I find out anything else, I'll let you all know." 

"Okay," the three said. 

"Minna, gunnai!" 

"Oyasumi," Miyako, Hikari, and Sora said. 

After hanging up, Mimi headed over towards her mirror to cover her hair up for the night. 

"Too bad I wasn't much help for Hikari-chan, but I'm too concerned about Koushirou-kun right now. He's acting so much stranger than usual lately," Mimi said as she finished her hair. She then headed over towards her bed. "Koushirou, what's wrong with you? Why are you so distant and why were you so anxious to get back home?" 

The girl laid down in her bed, thinking about the walk home with Koushirou. 

_Koushirou led Mimi towards the door so that he could walk her home and hurry and get back. Those papers could have the answers to the questions that he had been wondering about for the past 11 years of his life._

_The two were now walking down the block. Surprisingly, Mimi's aunt and uncle's house wasn't too far away from the Izumi's apartment complex. It took a little over a half hour by foot to get there. They could've taken the bus, but Mimi insisted on walking._

_"Um, why are you in such a hurry?"_

_"Well, um, the sooner you get home, the better," Koushirou said nervously._

_"Is that really all?" Mimi asked._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Well, ever since you got that jacket of yours, you've been acting stranger than what you already were..."_

_"Me, strange!?!" Koushirou laughed._

_"Yep, strange," Mimi laughed lightly._

_"Well, I just want you to hurry and get home so that you'll be safe, that's all. I also don't want you to get into trouble because of your visiting me."_

_That was only part of his reason though, not wanting Mimi to get into trouble. The other reason was to hurry and get her home so that he could hurry and get home and go through the papers he had gotten a glimpse at before he left._

_"You still act as if you're in a rush."_

_"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Koushirou apologized._

_"That's okay, I guess. At least you're talking to me."_

_The two continued the walk in silence pretty much after that. Koushirou wasn't in a talking mood, which wasn't a surprise to Mimi, but she could tell that the boy had a lot on his mind. She knew that the walk to her aunt and uncle's house was going to soon be over, so she decided to speak up again, when they reached her door step._

_"Well, you're home," the boy said quickly. "G'night."_

_The boy was about to walk off, until Mimi stopped him._

_"So, what exactly is bothering you, Izumi Koushirou? What's so wrong that it's making you act so distant with me? Something you've never done before!! Even Taichi-san and the others are noticing that!"_

_The boy was caught offguard by the question and turned around to face her. He didn't know what to say to her or how to respond to such a question. He had done a good job of avoiding the subject earlier, but he didn't think that she would bring it back up, but then again, this was Tachikawa Mimi; she always tried to cheer people up no matter what problem they could be having or what problems they could be going through._

_Right now, the two were just standing there, caught in each other's gaze, underneath a clear, moonlit sky. Koushirou was still trying to think of a way to respond to Mimi's question, but being caught in her gaze, staring into her clear, innocent tan eyes, had distracted him tremendously. Mimi looked quite pretty to him right now, but it was strange how he had never really noticed it before. He did admit to himself, at that particular moment, that Mimi was a pretty young girl, but he soon shook that thought off quickly, mainly because of Mimi breaking his train of thought._

_"Well?" the girl demanded while tapping her foot._

_"Oh, um, sorry."_

_"What's with you, Koushirou?"_

_"Why do you care so much anyway?" he asked, a bit annoyed._

_"Why? Why?" Mimi asked in disbelief. "Isn't it obvious, 'why'! It's because I'm your friend, that's why! I'm worried about you! Something is bothering you and I intend on finding out what that something is! I wouldn't be me if I didn't!"_

_The boy stood there, not knowing what to say. He knew he had to tell her, but for some reason, it bothered him to share his secret with anyone._

_"I-I-I've got to go, okay. G'bye."_

_The boy turned and ran away from Mimi as fast as he could._

_"I'll tell you soon, Mimi-san, but not yet," the boy said to himself as he ran away from the Nishimura home. "I'm not ready to yet, but why is this bothering me so much anyway? It's such a simple task..."_

_The girl stared at the boy running down the pathway leading away from her current home. She just didn't understand the boy or what he was going through._

"Koushirou, stop being so secretive all of the time!" Mimi said in a barely audible whisper. "Just tell me what's bothering you..."   
****   
Same time as Mimi said, "Just tell me what's bothering you"... 

"I'll tell you everything, Mimi-san," Koushirou said to himself as he unlocked the door of his home. "I _promise_!" 

The boy had just reached his doorstep. He took the long way home, thinking about Mimi and how he was pretty much upsetting her. He noticed that both his mother and father were still out. He was somewhat surprised, but it didn't bother him much. He hurried back to the closet to the box with the papers, taking off his jacket, tossing it aside. 

"Where's that paper, c'mon, where's that blasted paper I saw!" Koushirou muttered. 

Obviously, when Mimi startled Koushirou and rushed to put all of the papers back, he had put them back out of order. So far, all he was seeing were old sales receipts and ticket stubs and other important looking documents. He didn't bother reading or looking over any of them. He just glanced at them, and if he didn't see either the word, "Hikarigaoka" or "Adoption," he wasn't giving it any mind. 

The boy looked and looked, but he _just_ couldn't find that paper he was looking at earlier. Normally, when in a rush, it's easy to overlook things, which is why it's always wise to take one's time. 

Frustrated, the boy threw the papers down. 

"Where is it!!!" 

Right at that moment, Koushirou found an important looking document which had written as the letterhead, "Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency." The boy's eyes lit up as he started to read over the paper. It read: 

***Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency, page 2**

**Adoption granted to: Izumi Masami, 25 & Izumi Yoshie, 25**   
**Adoptive Name: Izumi Koushirou**   
**Current Age: 6 months**   
**Hair Color: Red**   
**Eye Color: Black**   
**D.O.B: 1989.11.17**   
**Date of Adoption: 1990.05.15**   
**Nationality: Japanese American**   
**Place of Birth: New York, USA**

The young boy stared at the paper in disbelief, ignoring the rest of the information on the paper, which was of no use to him. First he was dissappointed that he couldn't find the first page that would have information on his biological parents, but on this page, it said that he wasn't born in Hikarigaoka, like he had always thought. 

"New York? I'm...American?" 

The boy sat there and thought for a moment. It just wasn't making any sense to him. He didn't have the typical features of the average Japanese person, but he had always thought of himself as a Japanese Citizen. 

"Japanese American?" he said again. "Does this mean that my mother or father was American? Is Koushirou even my _real_ name? Does this mean that I'm not _really_ an Izumi?" He mentally slapped himself. "No kidding! Of course not! I've known that I wasn't an Izumi for years, it's just confirmed now..." 

Koushirou stood up and put the papers back in the box. He knew that his mother and father would be getting back soon. He decided that he would look for the other part of the Adoption papers later, like after his parents were asleep. He had been shocked enough for one night; besides, he couldn't seem to find it. 

Time he put the papers back in the box, he heard a key entering the keyhole of his front door. He hurried and cut off the lights and ran to his room and shut the door, locking it. He heard them enter, laughing and talking. 

"I haven't felt this young in years!" Mrs. Izumi laughed playfully. 

"Me neither! I know I have work tomorrow, but we haven't hanged out like that since we were teenagers!" 

"I know, and it's been a while since we've gone out for ice cream too!" 

"The movies was nice too," Mr. Izumi smiled. "When was the last time we've actually had an evening to ourselves?" 

"Not since we were married and not since we lost..." 

The woman lowered her head, unable to continue.   
****   
"Lost what? Lost whom?" Koushirou wondered since he overheard all that was currently being said by them.   
****   
"Don't get too sad about it," Mr. Izumi told his wife. "Maybe this baby will be reborn from him. You know, reincarnation." 

"You really think so?" 

"Of course. It was just meant to be. Now, let's get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us for staying up so late." 

"Yeah," the woman agreed. She then turned to her husband and said, "I'm going to go check on Koushirou." 

"C'mon, the boy is going to be 15 soon," Mr. Izumi reminded her. "He is about to enter his senior year in Junior High. I think he can go without his mommy checking on him. It won't hurt him." 

"I can't help it." 

"Don't worry, you're going to have another one soon and you can baby him or her all you want," the man smiled. 

"I guess so." 

"Oh, I just remembered, I have to do some figuring and budgeting. Always be prepared, I always say, and I think it wouldn't hurt to start budgeting for the baby early, don't you think?" 

"I agree with you, but you should get your rest. I can worry about the budgeting." 

"Okay." 

"Where are all of our sales receipts? Did you put them away or did you move them?" 

"They're in the usual place." 

"I'll go get them." 

The lady went to the closet and took out a familiar looking box, the same exact one Koushirou was looking through earlier. Koushirou heard the closet door open from his room. He cursed himself after he heard his parents take the box out.   
****   
"Shimatta!" he cursed. "Why do bad things like this _always_ happen to me!? How am I going to find out about my birth parents if _they_ have the papers!" 

The boy sat down on his bed and tuned his parents out, trying to think of a solution to his problem. He was also curious about who or what his mother was referring to.   
****   
"Don't reach up on that shelf, you're pregnant," the man said while getting the box for her. 

Mrs. Izumi laughed at her husband. 

"I remember when we were pregnant the first time. I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not far enough along for me to be too delicate to do things for myself." 

"I'm just out of practice," he told her. "I'm not really experienced with this." 

"I know," the woman said, giving her husband a loving hug.   
****   
Back to Koushirou... 

"What do I do now?" he asked while pacing back and forth. 

He paced a bit more and snapped his fingers!! 

"I'm a genius! Why didn't I think of this before!? I could just use my computer, break into the Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency's database, and look up the information! I'm sure I could figure it out..." 

The boy turned on his light and booted up his desktop. He then did his thing to try to get into the Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency's database. Surprisingly, for Koushirou, he couldn't figure out how to get into the passworded info. He couldn't crack the code to bypass it. 

*Note: I totally suck at describing computer related stuff. ^^'* 

"Aww man! I don't know _what_ kind of a program they're using to prevent people from breaking into their database, but I've never encountered such a thing before." 

The boy muttered under his breath. He had never come across a program that he couldn't break or hack his way into. He had always considered himself to be a professional when it came to these kinds of things, yet if you accused him of being a pro hacker, he'd jump down your throat for it, denying it. Pretty weird, don't ya think? :-p 

"There's only one thing I _can_ do. I'll have to go there to find out this information, but I'm not getting off yet! I'm going to keep trying first! There _has_ to be a way to get through this!" 

The boy kept at it, trying hacking trick after hacking trick, none of them helping him out in any way possible...   
************************************************************************************************************************************* 

**Notes**

Note 1: Sorry everyone. I have _no_ idea what an adoption paper would look like or what exactly would be included, etc. I'm only assuming, so don't flame me if I _did_ do something wrong. ^^; I also chose the b-day off the top of my head. Thinking about it now, I think Koushirou would make a pretty good Virgo instead of a Scorpio...don't ya think? I personally think Ken would make a good Scorpio, or either a Capricorn. (Click here to go back to where you were) 


	7. The Two Invitations Mimi's Decision!

Hey everyone. I know you're wondering why I took so long to put this part up. Well, as we all know, ff.net was down for a while for maintennance reasons and it took a while for the login to work right. Well, either way, I hope you all will enjoy this part. It's pretty long, so don't say I didn't warn ya. ^^ Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated with the show, manga, game, etc.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 7: The Two Invitations; Mimi's Decision!

The next morning at the Izumi home... 

"Today is definitely going to be a tiring day for us!" Mrs. Izumi said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She then poured a cup for her husband. "We definitely need this coffee!" 

"Thank you," Mr. Izumi said, accepting the coffee. 

Mrs. Izumi started to sip on her coffee. 

"We stayed out late last night, went to the movies, went out for ice cream, acting like a couple of children..." 

"Yeah, but it _was_ fun!" Mr. Izumi said as he opened the morning paper. 

"Do you think we should've brought some icecream back for Koushirou? Since he wasn't with us, I didn't even think about it..." 

"Nah," he laughed. "Koushirou likes the strangest combinations of ice cream toppings--caramel, lots of jellybeans, chocolate sprinkles, sweet cherries, avacados, and who _knows_ what else!" 

"That's _definitely_ a strange combo! He would have to come along with us for all of the toppings _he_ likes!" 

"I always wondered where he could have gotten that from...his mother or his father..." 

The woman got quiet. 

"Yeah, I wonder..." 

"Wow, most of these stocks are down today," Mr. Izumi said nervously as he turned to business section of the paper, trying to ease the tension by changing the subject. 

"Yeah..." 

"Shouldn't Koushirou be up by now?" Mr. Izumi asked, putting his paper down. 

Mrs. Izumi looked over at the clock. 

"Yeah, you're right! He should be!" 

The woman faced the hallway which led to Koushirou's room. 

"Koushirou, breakfast! It is time for you to get ready for school!" she shouted down the hall. 

"I'm surprised he isn't up. He must have stayed out later than we thought after we _specifically_ said not to!" 

"But he got home before we did," Mrs. Izumi informed him. 

"But we didn't check up on him last night after we came in." 

"Weren't _you_ the one who insisted on me _not_ checking up on my little angel since you said that he is a grown boy now?" Mrs. Izumi asked while giving her husband a playful smirk. 

"Oh yeah," he laughed with a sweat drop. 

"Besides, his shoes were by the door when we got here. I noticed them." 

"Do you think he could have snuck out?" 

"No, our Koushirou wouldn't do a thing like that." 

"Yeah, but who knows what's going through his mind now. He _is_ older now. He's going to be 15 later on this year." 

"I know, but I still see him as _my_ little boy..." 

"I know, I know, but a boy Koushirou's age needs his privacy. We can not keep checking up on him like he's a five year old." 

"I guess you're right, but it _is_ strange that he isn't up yet. I'm going to get him." 

The woman got up and walked off towards Koushirou's room...   
****   
Koushirou was laying down in bed, sleeping soundly. His alarm went off, but since he was in such a deep slumber, he didn't even hear it. His mother heard the alarm and knocked on the door. 

"Koushirou, Koushirou, dear," the woman asked, a bit worried. "Is everything all right in there?" 

The boy sat up and rubbed his eyes. He finally heard his alarm going off and he also heard his mother knocking. 

"Hi mom," the boy yawned and stretched. 

The boy looked over at his alarm clock and saw the time and literally screamed. 

"Oh no! I'm late!" 

The boy hurried to get himself ready for school. All Mrs. Izumi saw was a redheaded blur zoom past her right into the bathroom. She smiled and went back to where her husband was. 

"Well?" the man asked. 

"He just overslept, although, that's not like him," the woman said while taking her seat. "He has always been quite punctual. What if something is wrong! What if it _is_ the pregnancy again! What if he really disapproves of our having a child!" the woman panicked. 

"Yoshie, you worry too much. I am sure it is nothing. Are you feeling guilty again?" 

"_Very_ guilty," the woman sighed as she stared down into her coffee cup. "A part of me wants to tell Koushirou about his adoption, but..." 

"If we told him about his adoption, we would lose him!" 

"What do you mean?" 

"We would lose him," he said again. "He would go off in search of his real family if we told him!" 

"But they're _dead_!" 

"He would still go out looking regardless, maybe even feeling unwanted by us since we aren't his real family! This is Koushirou we're talking about here and knowing our luck, he would probably find some family member that was overlooked when the adoption agency was trying to place him with a family! That boy was a blessing to us, and I love that boy like he was my very own! I don't want to lose him!" 

"But..." 

"Let's wait a while longer before we tell him, after he has finished with Junior High and High School. I would feel better if we waited a while longer before telling him." 

The woman wasn't all that thrilled of the idea, but she too felt that Koushirou was a blessing to them and she didn't want to lose him either. 

"I guess you're right, we will wait," the woman said reluctantly. 

Mrs. Izumi started to sip on her coffee again. 

"I know this is wrong. We really ought to tell him that he is adopted. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to tell him when the time comes. What if he ends up hating us for not telling him earlier? What if we lose him!" the woman asked herself. She then shook her head. "No, I can not think that way. I'll just do as Masami says. If he feels we should wait, then I will have to go along with it, no matter _how_ much I may disagree with him..." 

Right at that moment, Koushirou walked in with his school books and dressed in his school uniform, oblivious to the conversation that was just discussed a moment earlier between Mr. and Mrs. Izumi. 

"Hi guys! Sorry, but I can't eat any breakfast." 

"But I made your favorite. Fried eggs with jellybeans and mustard." 

*Note: I just found out that for the original, Koushirou says that he likes wine vinegar with his eggs in the 01 ep where everyone was talking about how they like their eggs prepared. Thanks to those at the WtW message board for informing of that. ^_^* 

"I'm sorry, but I'm really late," Koushirou said while hugging his mother. 

"Sit down young man!" Mrs. Izumi sternly ordered. 

The boy had never heard his mother get stern with him before so he obeyed her and sat down, mostly out of fear. 

"Eat something! It's not good to go to school with an empty stomach!" 

"I could pick something up on the way." 

"I guess..." 

Koushirou noticed how upset his mother was getting, like her feelings were hurt, so he decided to eat. 

"Hey, son, why are you so tired?" Mr. Izumi asked. He then laughed and said, "Don't tell us that you're sneaking out after curfew." 

Koushirou thought for a moment. He had really spent the entire night trying to figure out a way to break into the Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency's database, still not having any luck or accomplishing anything. He then thought of a lie. 

"I was doing some research and stayed up later than I anticipated. I am very sorry and I promise never to do it again." 

"We'll let it slide this time," the man smiled. "School work is important. Now go on and run off to school." 

"But he didn't finish his breakfast!" 

"He'll be late," Mr. Izumi said as he took out his wallet. He went through his wallet and took out some money. "Here, take this," he said as he handed the money to Koushirou. "Buy yourself some breakfast today and if you want, you can buy lunch instead of carrying it today." 

"Masami, I _like_ making him lunches!" 

"She's going through those mood swings already? I thought it would have been too early for that. If she is like this and it is just her first month, what is she going to be like weeks from now!" Mr. Izumi asked himself fearfully. He then turned to his wife and said, "Don't worry about it. Let him buy just this once. It's not often he buy his lunch anyway." 

"Okay, if you say so," the woman said while standing up. "I'm going to my room now, I'm a bit tired." She then forced on a smile and said, "Have a nice day at school, Koushirou." 

Koushirou didn't know what was going on and nodded. He then ran out of the house to avoid being later than what he already was. 

"Yoshie, what's the matter?" 

"I don't know," the woman sighed. "When you gave him that money, I just felt as if he, I don't know, didn't like my cooking!" 

"Koushirou _does_ appreciate you _and_ your cooking! He was willing to sit down here and eat just to show you that he cares about you." 

"I'm sorry. I just don't know what is wrong with me. Sometimes I'm happy and then sometimes I just don't want to be bothered." 

"Maybe I should stay home from work today." 

"Nah, go on. I'll be fine. Besides, I have some budgeting to do since we _are_ going to have a baby." 

She smiled and gave him a hug. 

"All right! I will see you this afternoon, but if you need anything, just call me." 

"Hai," the woman nodded with a smile. 

The man grabbed his things and took off, leaving Mrs. Izumi at home.   
****   
Koushirou made it to school, _just_ in time. The gates were just about to close when he got there. He hurried and ran to his class. The poor boy was fighting sleep the entire time. He was incredibly tired since he had stayed up the majority of the night pondering over his situation. 

Right now, they were sitting through their math class with Ms. Konishi. *Sitting in the same classroom the entire day was quite boring, so that wasn't helping Koushirou much. He only had a few more minutes 'til their break for lunch and his eyelids were pretty much closed. Sleeping in class was something he _definitely_ didn't do. Taichi, sure, Daisuke, definitely, but not him. Luckily, for Koushirou, they were on a little break since everyone had finished their lessons early. Ms. Konishi told them to keep busy while she ran off to get something, so the classroom was "teacherless" as of the moment... 

"Yo, Izumi, wake up!" a person shouted at Koushirou. 

"Huh, what!" the boy said in alarm, jerking his head up. He then turned to see who had addressed him. "Oh, Ueda-san," he yawned sleepily. 

"You nodded off and I couldn't hear anything that Konishi-sensei was saying over _your_ snoring," Yuuji joked. 

"Yeah, whatever, sorry," Koushirou muttered, not really paying attention. 

"Seriously, though, what's wrong?" Yuuji asked, a bit concerned. 

"Oh, I am fine," the boy said, trying to come up with something to tell Yuuji so he would leave him alone. "I'm just a little tired from hanging out at that karaoke bar last night." 

"A karaoke bar?" Yuuji asked in shock. "_You_!?!" 

"It wasn't _my_ idea to go." 

"Who asked you to go, then?" 

"Mimi-san." 

"Mimi!?! What about me!?! She didn't invite me!" 

While Yuuji sat there and complained, Koushirou had tuned him out with his own thoughts... 

"America? I was born in America? Did the Izumis know that when they adopted me? Why was _I_ never told? I feel I have a right to know of my true birthplace!" Koushirou then sighed. "Why are they keeping all of this from me anyway? It _just_ doesn't compute..." 

"Izumi?" 

"Oh, sorry." 

"What _is_ the deal?" Yuuji asked. 

"Deal with what?" 

"With you and _Mimi_?!?" 

"Deal with Mimi-san?" Koushirou asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?" 

"Don't play dumb, Izumi. What's going on with you two!?!" 

"Going on with us?" 

"How long have you and Mimi-chan been a couple!" 

"A _what_!?!" the boy shouted loudly. 

All of the students looked over in Koushirou's direction, which caused the boy to blush nervously from the attention he was receiving. He then lowered his voice to talk with Yuuji. 

"A couple?!?" Koushirou asked again in surprise. "You _are_ joking, right?!?" 

"What are you talking about?" 

"I do _not_ like Mimi-san in that way. We are only friends and nothing more." Koushirou then gave an exasperated sigh. "Why do people always think that anyway?" 

"Probably because you two hang out together so much." 

"If that isn't the _dumbest_ thing I have ever heard," he muttered. 

"Well, you two _do_ hang out quite a bit." 

"We are friends, that's all. Anyone else who thinks otherwise is obviously blind." 

With that, the boy got up and left the room. It was almost time for their lunch break anyway. When Koushirou was walking out, his math teacher was walking back into the classroom. 

"Izumi-kun?" 

"Um, I need to be excused to go to the restroom," Koushirou lied. 

With that, he left the petite sized teacher, who looked at Koushirou in a confused manner. 

"Okay everyone, class dismissed. Enjoy lunch," the woman announced after Koushirou had walked out. 

All of the students rushed out of the classroom to the lunchroom. Koushirou had made his way there as well.   
****   
Mimi was sitting down with her usual group of friends in the lunchroom, but was unusually quiet and was staring at a certain redheaded computer genius, wondering and thinking of how he acted that previous night. She hadn't noticed his behavior during class. Their seats weren't all that close to one other, but she _did_ hear him shout out in class, but she didn't think anything of it. 

"Koushirou, what's wrong with you?" the girl asked herself while staring at Koushirou. "Why won't you confide in me or the others?" 

"Mimi-chan, Mimi-chan," a girl called, trying her best to get Mimi's attention. "What's wrong?" 

"Huh, wha?" the girl asked, her thoughts being broken. "Oh, gomen, Ayame-chan. I didn't mean to space out like that." 

The girl was sitting with her good friends, Ayame, Yuko, and Chinatsu. They were all in the Volleyball Club with Mimi and were pretty much with the popular crowd. 

"Is something wrong, Mimi-chan?" Chinatsu asked. 

"No, I'm fine," Mimi said, playing with her food. "I was just thinking of something." 

"Or should we say some_one_," Mimi's friend, Yuko, teased. 

"Na-nani?" Mimi asked nervously with a slight stutter. 

"I saw you staring at that boy!" Yuko taunted. 

"I was _not_ staring at anyone," Mimi said in defense, with a nervous look. 

"Yes you were!" Ayame said, vouching for Yuko. "You were staring over in that direction and the only person over there is that Izumi boy!" 

Koushirou was sitting down at a table to himself eating his lunch. This was pretty much the normality for him. Mimi had offered for him to sit with her and her friends, but he always refused her. The same applied with Koushirou when anyone else would ask him to join them for lunch. 

"Mimi-chan likes Izumi, Mimi-chan likes Izumi!" Yuko teased in singsong 

"Be quiet!" Mimi said, turning red from embarassment and nervousness. "I do _not_ like him! He is _just_ a friend!" 

"Then why were you staring at him like that?" Chinatsu queried. 

"I'm a bit worried about him, okay," Mimi admitted, quieting, calming down a bit. "He _is_ a friend." 

"What's wrong with him?" Yuko asked, putting all of her mocking beside. 

"I don't know," Mimi sighed. "He's been acting weird lately." 

"No offense, but I've _always_ found him to be a little...weird," Ayame said. 

"He is _not_ weird!" Mimi said, defending her redheaded friend. "He's just a bit quite and not too social. It's just hard for him to get close to anyone, I guess." 

Before either of the girls could respond, they heard someone call, "Oye, Mimi!" 

"Uh-oh," Ayame laughed. "Here comes the fan club of Mimi-chan!" 

"Tomokazu and his cousin, Ueda," Yuko identified. 

"Yeah, and of course her _biggest_ admirers, Takamatsu and Hashimoto," Chinatsu added on. 

"Lucky!" Yuko cried. "I wish I had those many boys interested in me!" 

"Hello, Seki-kun, Yuuji-kun, Misao-kun, Ukyo-kun," Mimi greeted. 

"Why not have yourselves a seat," Ayame asked the four boys sarcastically. 

All four boys took a seat, trying to get extra close to Mimi, who ignored them pretty much and kept staring at Koushirou. She was terribly worried about him. She just _knew_ something was bothering him and she wanted to help him out in any way possible, but how can she help him if he wouldn't allow himself _to_ be helped... 

"Hey, he's leaving!" Mimi said to herself while still staring after Koushirou. "I wonder where he's going..." 

"Mimi-chan?" Misao asked, trying his best to get her attention. 

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry guys. I think I'm going to cut my lunch a little bit short. I will catch you all back in class," Mimi informed them. She then turned her attention back towards the boys. "Yuuji-kun, do you have any idea what was wrong with Koushirou today during math class?" 

"Nope," Yuuji said with a shrug. "He just slept during most of it." 

"Strange, that does _not_ sound like Koushirou. He isn't the type to sleep during class, even when the subject is _really_ boring, like History," the girl said to herself. She then turned her attention back towards her friends. "Well, thanks. I'll see you all later." 

The girl got up and took her tray of food to dump. She then walked off, hurriedly, in hopes of catching up with Koushirou. 

"What's with her?" Ukyo asked after Mimi had left. 

"Something about Izumi is bothering her," Ayame told him. 

"Izumi?" Ukyo asked. 

"The computer club president," Chinatsu reminded them. 

"That nerdy guy?" Misao asked in surprise. 

"Yep, she's concerned about him," Ayame said with a nod. 

"She's always hanging out with Izumi! How can one of the most popular girls in school hang out with someone like him! There's nothing wrong with Izumi, they just seem like they're from two different worlds. Mimi-chan is outgoing, social, and popular and Izumi is, well, not." Yuuji then started to cry. "She even went out with him to a karoke bar last night!" 

"It's not like it was just her and Izumi, they had their other friends with them too," Ayame muttered with a sweat drop from the way Yuuji was carrying on. 

"She keeps turning down dates with me!" Seki cried. 

"I _wonder_ why," Yuko sarcastically responded. 

"Urusai omae!" Seki said, giving Yuko a slightly annoyed look. 

*Note: That phrase simply means, "Quiet you!" or pretty much a rude way of saying it. It probably means "shutup you" moreso* 

"Maybe you guys are just too persistent," Yuko said. 

"Persistent?" Misao asked. 

"You guys come on too strong, I guess," Ayame said. 

"Or maybe you're not her type," Chinatsu added on. 

"And how would _you_ all know?" Ukyo asked. 

"We _are_ her best friends you know," Yuko told them. "We _know_ these things." 

"Are you saying that _Izumi_ is her type!" Seki asked, a bit worried. 

"We didn't say that," Yuko slyly smirked. 

"Tell us!" Ukyo demanded. "Tell us what she likes in a guy!" 

"Hmm, I don't know if we should tell you..." Ayame started, as if she were thinking about considering telling them. 

"Onegai!" all four boys practically begged. 

"Let me discuss this over with my pals here," Ayame told the four. She then turned to both Yuko and Chinatsu. "Huddle!" 

"So, what do you guys say?" Yuko asked in a whisper. "Should we have a little fun with them?" 

"Why not," Chinatsu said, willing to make the guys look foolish. "It's not like we can tell them the truth. _We_ don't even know what Mimi-chan likes in a guy. She's never really shown any interest in a particular one." 

"Exactly what I was thinking," Ayame agreed. "Okay, so let's make some stuff up to make them look silly." 

"What do we say?" Chinatsu asked. 

"How about we make up stuff based on her Chosen friends, which she sometimes refer to as her Digidestined friends," Ayame suggested. 

"Sounds good to me," Yuko snickered. 

"How come she calls them her 'Digidestined friends'?" Chinatsu asked. 

"I don't know," both Yuko and Ayame said together. 

"She never _did_ say, but she did introduce us to them before and I think she mentioned that Izumi was one too, which is probably why he went along with her to the karaoke bar last night," Ayame said. "I'm surprised she got someone like Izumi to go. She told us yesterday that she was planning on having a Digidestined get-to-gether." 

"I can't _believe_ Mimi-chan is friends with Yamato-san of the Teenage Wolves!" Yuko said while getting starry eyed. "She's _so_ lucky!" 

"We'll continue our daily talk about cute boys later," Ayame said. "C'mon, break everyone!" 

"Right," the other two girls said as they broke the huddle. 

"Well?" Seki asked. 

"Okay, we will tell you what Mimi-chan likes, but don't let on that you guys know," Ayame told them. 

"And if you do choose to do this, you have to do it at the party," Yuko added. 

"Okay, we promise!" Ukyo said, anxious to get the vital information. "Just _tell_ us!!" 

"Well, first you have to know how to play the...Autoharp," Chinatsu said on the spur of the moment. 

"That'll be easy," Yuuji said confidently. "I'm the musician of my family!" 

"While standing on your head!" Chinatsu added on quickly. 

"What!" the boy said, his eyes going wide from the outrageous request. 

"And you have to wear blue goggles and they _have_ to be the round kind--not the dinky square kind--along with wild and big hair!" Yuko smiled evilly. 

"Huh?" Ukyo asked, still surprised at what he was hearing. 

"And she likes guys who look intellectual that wears glasses and carries around laptop computers constantly," Ayame added on 

The boys gave them looks. 

"Hey, you guys asked," Ayame said, trying her best not to laugh. 

"I bet I'll get Mimi-chan to like me before _you_ guys!" Yuuji challenged. 

"No way!" Misao retorted. 

"She's going to like me!" Seki chimed in. 

"C'mon girls, let's find someplace _quieter_ to sit so we can finish our lunches in peace," Ayame said while snickering. 

"Sure thing," Yuko said, gathering her belongings. 

The three girls stood up and left the four lovesick boys. 

"Pathetic," Chinatsu said while shaking her head. 

"But fun," Yuko smiled. 

"I can't _wait_ to see them at the party tomorrow!" Ayame exclaimed. "This is going to be hilarious!"   
****   
Mimi was now wandering around in the hall, trying to find Koushirou. It didn't take her long, but she found him sitting in the computer lab in deep thought. She was somewhat hesitant to approach him, though. She was starting to feel as if she was a burden to him--always pestering him for information that he was obviously no good at giving...information about himself. 

As long as she had known him, he wasn't known to show emotion, unless it was something obvious, like annoyance, but other than that, Koushirou really wasn't the type to go around showing what he was feeling. Figuring him out was a great mystery; even a great detective like Sherlock Holmes would probably have a difficult time trying to figure Koushirou out. 

"Do I approach him, or do I stand out here in the hall looking goofy?" Mimi asked herself. She then shook her head to get the guts to go in. "C'mon, Mimi, you _have_ to do something." 

"What do I do?" Koushirou asked himself. "I know what I have to do and what I'm _going _to do. I have to go to Hikarigaoka tomorrow! That is the only way I can find out about my real parents as well as myself!" 

It took a little while longer, but Mimi finally got the nerve to approach him. She walked into the computer lab slowly. Koushirou, hearing the footsteps, shouted out, "Who's there?" 

"It's just me," Mimi smiled nervously. 

"I've never seen a girl that always smiles. I guess it's just her nature," Koushirou noted to himself. "Oh, Mimi-san, it's just you. You startled me." 

"I'm sorry. I saw you leave the cafeteria and I was just wondering what was wrong since you looked as if something was bothering you when you left. Is it about our project?" 

"Mimi-san..." 

"Yes?" the girl asked eagerly. "Could he _finally_ be confiding in me? Is he _finally_ going to tell me what is bothering him?" Mimi wondered to herself. 

"I know that you are my partner for this project, but I have to do a little research first." 

"Um, okay, but what kind of research do you have to do?" Mimi asked, not really understanding. "It is a project about your parents, what else _is_ there to research that you haven't already?" 

"You'll see. I promised that I'd let you in on everything." 

"That _is_ true..." 

"So, if you really want to know what is going on, you'll come with me tomorrow..." 

"Go with you tomorrow? Go with you where?" 

"Hikarigaoka..." 

"Hikari_ga_oka?!? That's so out of the way! Why do we have to go there?!?" 

"You will see...I promise to tell you everything since I don't have much of a choice," Koushirou said while walking towards the door of the computer lab. "Besides, it would make me feel better to tell this...to get this information about myself off of my chest..." He then muttered in thought, "Even if it _is_ a bit embarrassing, but, would Mimi-san think of me as strange or unworthy to be her friend because of it? Would anyone?" 

"But _why_ Hikarigaoka?" 

"Because the answers I am looking for can only be found there, about who I _really_ am." 

Mimi was more confused than ever. She _really_ didn't get it. All the girl could do was nod. 

"Our lunch break is over, we should head on back to class before we are counted tardy. We only have one more subject left for the day." 

"Um, yeah..." 

The girl didn't know if she had made any progress or not. Koushirou was still acting mysterious about what was wrong with him. She was starting to get exasperated over the entire situation, but she figured, what's one more day... 

The two walked back to class for History, but they were tardy. Mr. Ishidzuka let them slide since it was their first time ever being tardy from lunch and Koushirou used the excuse of working on their history project. That excuse worked pretty well because Mr. Ishidzuka liked the fact that Koushirou was getting into the assignment. Mimi just smiled weakly and went along with everything Koushirou had said. 

After Ishidzuka had dismissed them, they both took their seats. Koushirou, back to his seat beside Yuuji and Mimi back to her seat towards the back of the class with Yuko and Ayame. Chinatsu wasn't in the same class as them. 

They, of course, questioned her when she took her seat. 

"So, what happened!" Yuko whispered after Mimi sat down. 

"What do you mean?" 

"What happened with Izumi?" Ayame asked. 

"Did you say that you're madly in love with him!" Yuko teased. 

"Wh-what!" Mimi asked while turning slightly red from nervousness in the face from the accusation. "That's the most ridiculous thing ever! Why on earth would you think such a thing!" 

"Because you're blushing," Yuko pointed out with a knowing smile. "Besides, you worry about him _way_ too much, so you _must_ be in love with him!" 

The tan haired girl smiled at Yuko. She knew how Yuko always exaggerated things. 

"Well, I guess I can't hide anything from the two of you," Mimi smirked slyly. 

"What!" Ayame asked. 

"I _do_ love Koushirou! I love him a lot!" 

"What!" the two girls' jaws dropped. 

"I love him, just like I love you guys." 

"Huh?" Yuko asked. 

"I don't get it." 

"I love him, just like I love you two," the girl smiled sweetly. "He's my friend, I love all of my friends." 

The two face faulted from Mimi's statement. 

"Shinohara-san, Sasaki-san," Mr. Ishidzuka called. 

"Yes sir?" both Ayame and Yuko asked while standing up. 

"Is there anything the matter back there?" 

"No sir," the two responded. 

"Good, now if you don't mind, get back to work. Finish reading chapter 10 like the rest of the class is doing." 

"Yes, Ishidzuka-sensei," the two bowed. 

Both girls sat down. Mimi giggled at the both of them. 

"That was a mean trick!" Yuko said, giving Mimi a look. 

"But it's the truth," Mimi smiled, trying to calm down with her giggling. "I _do_ love all of my friends." 

The day dragged on and since it was the last day of the week, there were also no club meetings that day. While going to her locker, Mimi ran into both Sora and Miyako. 

"Hi, guys," Mimi said while changing out of her school shoes. 

"I"m _so_ glad we bumped into you," Sora said. 

"How come?" the girl asked while putting her school shoes into her small shoe-sized locker. 

"Sora-san is having a party tomorrow and she's inviting everyone!" Miyako told her. "Since you missed your Volleyball Club earlier this week, we weren't sure if you had gotten the invite or not." 

"Is it a Chosen party or an all out one?" 

"It's a combination of both," Sora explained. "It's an end of the Schoolyear party and I'm inviting the younger kids too--Iori-kun, Ichijouji-kun, Hikari-chan, Takeru-kun, Daisuke-kun. Taichi is responsible for getting a hold of them. Once Taichi tells Hikari-chan--which he probably already has--she can let Takeru-kun and Daisuke-kun know, who'll let Iori-kun and Ichijouji-kun know and they can invite any friends that they would like." Sora thought about what she had said and turned to Miyako. "You know, to save Taichi the trouble, you could've done that. Takeru-kun _and_ Iori-kun live in your apartment building!" 

"Oh yeah, that's right," Miyako laughed, realizing that Sora was right. 

"Oh well, never mind that," Sora said. 

"So, what are you wearing and what time will you be there!" 

"Miyako-chan, why do you want to know what I'm going to wear?" 

"So I can try to find something that's nearly as nice as your outfit!" 

Mimi laughed. 

"The party starts at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon," Sora informed her. 

"Cool!" 

"So, when are you going to get there?" Miyako asked again. 

"I don't know if I can," Mimi said while closing her locker door. 

"What do you mean you might not make it!" Miyako asked in shock. "A party isn't a party without you!" 

"I can't..." 

"How come?" Sora asked. 

"Because I have to go to Hikarigaoka, tomorrow," she sighed. 

"Hikarigaoka?" Miyako asked. 

Mimi nodded. 

"What's happening there?" Miyako asked. 

"I...promised to go there with Koushirou, tomorrow." 

"I know this is going to sound dumb, but why is he going and why do _you_ feel so obligated to go?" Miyako asked. 

"It's for our assignment." 

"That history project you guys are working on?" Sora asked. 

The girl nodded. 

"He told me, '...the answers I am looking for can only be found there, about who I really am...'" 

"Um, that doesn't make much sense," Sora said. "What kind of a project are you two doing, anyway?" 

"We have to do some type of a project about our families, but since my parents aren't here, Ishidzuka-sensei asked if I could work with Koushirou since he's never been too good at assignments like these. I, of course, said yes," the girl smiled proudly. 

"But going to Hikarigaoka to find answers? Why doesn't he just sit down and talk with Mr. and Mrs. Izumi to get the information he needs? Not only will you be saving time, but you'd be saving money too!" 

"I don't know, Sora-san. I'm awfully worried about him and he promised to tell me what's going on with him if I did." 

"So _that's_ why you're going!" Miyako said with a smile. "To figure out his secret!" 

"I wonder what kind of a secret he has..." Sora said. 

"You know, maybe you could talk Izumi-senpai out of going to Hikarigaoka so that you both can come to the party. You know, postpone the trip til further notice." 

"I don't think he'd go for that," Mimi said. "Besides, our project is due this upcoming Friday and this is our last free day before this school year is over." 

"Oh, that's right," Sora recalled. 

Mimi noticed the sad look that Miyako currently had. 

"What's the matter, Miyako-chan?" Mimi asked. 

"I guess I'm feeling a bit left out," she sighed. "I'm just wondering why he isn't really saying anything to me. I always felt that I was his close friend too." 

"Maybe it's because Koushirou-kun sees Mimi-chan more than you now," Sora pointed out. "They have the same classes and everything. You guys only had the Computer Club." 

"Hmm, good point, but it still wouldn't hurt for him to pick up the phone, or in his case, turn on the computer and leave me a message." 

"Don't worry, Miyako-chan, I'm going to find out what's wrong with him." 

"I still wish he would let me in on whatever it is that's bothering him," Miyako muttered while crossing her arms. 

"Sora-san, how come you're just telling me about this party now?" 

"I sorta forgot to tell you guys," the girl said with a short laugh. "Everyone else already knew about it. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it from your friends." 

"So am I." 

"So you've been planning this for a while?" Miyako asked. 

"Yep," Sora nodded. 

"Cool! Well, I better get going. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, but I _will_ try to make it to your party! I like them too much to turn them down!" 

"That's our Mimi-chan!" Sora laughed. 

he girl then walked off, leaving Sora and Miyako and headed on home. She had to get a few things together if she wanted to go to Sora's party. 

Note 1: In Japan, the kids don't change classes, the teachers do, as far as I know anyway. It's like that in other countries too, like Argentina. That's the other country that comes to mind for me. ^^' (Click here to go back to where you were) 


	8. Preparing for Departure!

In ref to what Guardianmon said, maybe I am. :-p Just think of this as a messed up soap opera. They take forever to get to the point. lol Anyway, thanks for the reviews so far everyone and I hope you enjoy this part as well as the others. I promise you that Koushirou will find the info he needs really soon. ^_^ I had this part written the same time as I put up the part before it. I just couldn't think of a title. Notice I always have a tougher time coming up with a title name than I do writing the actual part. ^^' 

Oh, I'd like to thank those at Megchan's Message Board who helped me with this part unknowingly. I was trying to think up a strange dessert that only Koushirou would like and believe me, the combo _is_ a strange one. 

Oh, a warning. I find this part to be a tad bit boring. Can't say I didn't warn ya! ^^ 

Also, from now on, I will have a kind of "Status Report" in my Bio. It will list what fics I am currently working on and what I plan on adding on next, etc. I will update it at the beginning of each week, so if you all are wondering when I plan on putting up the next part of this particular fic or any others I may write, just keep checking my bio to see. 

Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated with the game, show, manga, etc. The creator as well as Toei and Bandai, has that pleasure.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 8: Preparing for Departure!

Koushirou walked home from school, alone; not that it bothered him any. He was unusually depressed. He didn't want to drag Mimi off to someplace she didn't want to go. If it were up to him, he would just leave her behind, but he knew better than to do that. He wouldn't hear the end of it if he did. 

He walked a while longer and finally came to a familiar looking place...his home. He walked in to see his mother watching television sipping on a cup of tea. The woman heard the door open and close. She then turned to see who it was. 

"Koushirou!" 

The woman got up and greeted the boy cheerfully. 

"Hi mom." 

"I'm so glad that you're home!" the woman said while hugging Koushirou. "I just wanted to apologize to you." 

"Apologize? What for?" 

"For the way I acted towards you this morning. I just wasn't myself. I am really sorry about that." 

"Oh, that?" Koushirou forced on a smile. "That's okay. I figured that you were just in a bad mood or tired or something. Everyone have his or her bad days." 

"I'm so glad that you understand, dear," the woman said while releasing him from her tight hug. "So, would you like a snack or anything?" 

"No thanks, mom. I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow." 

"Your trip? I thought we were all going to go out to the park for a family picnic tomorrow." 

"We were?" 

"Yes," the woman nodded. "We all decided to go to the park and have a picnic this weekend. It was your father's idea and we all agreed last Saturday that we would this weekend. Don't you remember?" 

The boy shook his head. 

"Couldn't you cancel your little trip just this once?" the woman asked sweetly. 

"Gomen, okaasan. I can't join you two tomorrow. It's really important that I go on this errand." 

The woman lowered her head and frowned a bit. 

"Mom, I'm sorry. I really am," he apologized. "But, um...," he started. "Think Izumi, think," he told himself. "Well, I er, um...I promised Mimi-san that..." 

The woman lifted her head up and smiled. 

"Don't say another word," the woman interrupted. "I understand completely." 

"You do?" Koushirou asked in surprise. 

She nodded. 

"I was young once too, you know." 

"So you don't mind me not joining you and dad tomorrow?" 

"Nope, I am sure your father will understand as well. Now go on." 

The boy scratched his head, confused as to why his mother had changed her mind so quickly. After that, he went to his room. A short while later, Mr. Izumi showed up, briefcase in hand. 

"I'm home," the man announced while hugging his wife. 

"Hi! How was your day!" the woman asked, hugging him back. 

"Pretty hectic since I spent the majority of my time worrying about you," the man said with a laugh. 

"I told you that you didn't have to worry about me." 

"Something smells good," Mr. Izumi said while sniffing the air. "What did you cook for dinner?" 

"Your favorite, stew, but I have some bad news and some good news about Koushirou." 

"Uh-oh," Mr. Izumi said, worried about what she was going to say. "His teacher didn't call again, did he?" 

The woman shook her head smiling as if she were witholding vital information. 

"He accidentally crashed one of the computer lab's computers again?" 

"Nope." 

"Then what is the problem and why do you have that smile on your face?" 

"He's not going to be able to join us for our family picnic in the park tomorrow." 

"Aww, I really was hoping that we would get to spend some quality time together." 

"Same here." 

Mrs. Izumi started to make her way towards the kitchen. 

"It's not often that we spend time together, all three of us, like we did when Koushirou was younger." 

Mr. Izumi followed his wife into the kitchen. 

"Did he say why he couldn't make it?" 

"He said that he has to take a little trip tomorrow and that's the good news," the woman said while cleaning off a few dishes in the sink. 

"A trip?" 

"Hai," she nodded. 

"And you are okay with this?" He looked at his wife in confusion. "I don't find anything 'good' about this news yet." 

"Our little Koushirou is growing up." 

Mr. Izumi, at this particular point, was tasting the stew that Mrs. Izumi had prepared. 

"I still don't get where you are going with this," the man asked while tasting. 

"_You're_ going to be out of this kitchen if you keep trying to sneak dinner early!" the woman said while smacking the wooden spoon from out of his hand. "Wait until I finish baking the dinner rolls!" She then pointed to the counter where a wooden chopping board sat, along with a various amount of vegetables. "You can finish chopping up those vegetables for the salad." 

"Okay," the man said. 

Mrs. Izumi put the top back onto the stew pot and went to check on the rolls she had baking in the oven. 

"Anyway, he is taking a trip tomorrow with Mimi!" 

"Mimi?" the man asked while chopping up some carrots for the salad. 

"Yeah, isn't that great!" 

"I guess," the man muttered, trying to figure out what the big deal was. 

"Don't you get it? Our young Koushirou is _finally_ noticing girls! He is taking a trip with a pretty girl that he has known for a long time! That _must_ mean something!" 

"Maybe you're right, but what if it's something else?" 

"I don't know what else it could be." 

"Hey, we're out of carrots." 

"That's because I used most of them to bake Koushirou's dessert." 

"Oh. Well, anyway, you sound very sure of yourself about this situation dealing with Koushirou. Where exactly is he going?" 

"Well...um..." The woman smiled nervously. "I didn't ask." 

"Yoshie!" Mr. Izumi said, nearly face faulting. 

"I was so happy for him to be doing something involving a girl, I didn't bother asking." 

"We'll get it out of him at dinner," the man said sneakily. 

"Of course! I'm glad I baked his favorite dessert to make up for the weird way I was acting this morning. That should make it even easier for us to weasel that information out of him." 

After a while, dinner was ready to be served. Mr. Izumi went to get Koushirou. Koushirou walked slowly to the table and took his seat. The boy swallowed down his stew pretty quickly, totally oblivious to the fact that his parents were staring at him. He didn't notice because he was hungry and was concentrating on finishing up the tasty stew in his bowl. 

"So," Mr. Izumi started while taking a bite out of one of the dinner rolls, "your mother tells me that you will not be joining us for our outing tomorrow." 

"Nope," the boy said plainly as he helped himself to some more of the stew. "I have something to do tomorrow and I can't reschedule it." He then took a sip of his tea and took a bite out of one of the rolls. 

"I see," Mrs. Izumi said while adding dressing to her salad. 

"So, where will you be going tomorrow?" Mr. Izumi asked. 

"You already mentioned something about Mimi," Mrs. Izumi said as she started to eat her salad. 

"I can't tell them that I'm going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow. They'll just ask a bunch of questions that I really don't want to answer." 

At that particular moment, Mrs. Izumi got up and headed towards the kitchen. 

"Son?" 

"Oh, sorry for spacing out like that, dad," the boy apologized. "Did you say something?" 

Before Mr. Izumi could respond, Mrs. Izumi walked back into the dining room and set a plate down in front of Koushirou. 

"Here, have a piece," she smiled as she set a small, square object on his plate. "It's your favorite...Chocolate Fudge Carrot Cake Brownies with purple jellybeans and chocolatety fudge sprinkles." 

"You _did_ make something for us, didn't you?" Mr. Izumi asked in a whisper, shuddering at the thought of eating Chocolate covered Carrot Cake. 

"Shh!" 

The boy's eyes lit up as he started to take bites of the marvelous dessert...well, to him anyway. ^^ 

"Now, I was asking where you were planning on going tomorrow with your friend Mimi," Mr. Izumi said again. 

"Um, well, I..." the boy started as he stuffed another brownie into his mouth. "What do I say to them?" he asked himself. 

"Koushirou, don't eat so much at a time," Mrs. Izumi warned. "You may get indigestion or a bad stomach ache." 

Koushirou scarfed down his fourth brownie and nodded to his mother, stalling so that he could come up with something. 

"Well, um, we were all going over to the home of Taichi-san to study for our final examinations for the end of this school year." 

"Oh, a study date with all of your friends?" Mr. Izumi asked. 

"Yeah, even though Taichi-san, Yamato-san, and Sora-san have already taken their High School Entrance Exams," Koushirou explained, adding more onto his lie. "They still have to take end of the year exams for their Senior year at OJH for all of their courses." Koushirou finished his fifth brownie and drank the rest of his tea. "May I have another brownie, please?" 

"Sure, go right ahead," the woman said dissappointedly. "Eat as many of them as you would like." 

Koushirou picked himself up another brownie. 

"School is important and we wouldn't want to get in the way of your lessons so go right ahead," Mrs. Izumi told him. 

"Um, okay." 

"What time were you planning on leaving to go over there?" Mr. Izumi asked. 

"First thing. We have quite a bit of material to cover," he said, feeling a bit nervous. 

"School sure seems a lot harder than when we had to go," Mrs. Izumi said, recalling her school days. "Too much testing!" 

"Yeah, it does seem more difficult, but with each generation, school gets a bit more difficult and challenging." 

The boy pushed his plate away, leaving his half eaten brownie. 

"May I be excused?" 

"Is something wrong?" Mrs. Izumi asked. 

"No, I just ate a bit too much and I'm a bit full." 

"Okay, go ahead," the woman said. 

With that, the boy got up and went to his room, holding his incredibly nervous stomach. He had _lied_ to his parents. He had _never_ done that before; well, not to this extent anyway. Sure he told the occasional white lie, but not one like the one that he had just now. He hated keeping secrets from his parents. It really bothered him. He shook off the feeling and got onto the computer. He sent Mimi and e-mail telling her where and when to meet him.... 

"I guess you were jumping to conclusions," Mr. Izumi said after Koushirou had left. 

"I guess so," the woman frowned. "I was _so_ sure that he was going to say that he had a date with Mimi. A _date_ date, not a study date with her and the other children." 

"I guess Koushirou isn't mature enough for girls yet." 

"I guess so," the woman muttered, a bit disappointed. Mrs. Izumi then stood up and started to gather up the dinner dishes. "Well, I better get all of this put away." 

"I'll help you." 

With that, the two cleared the table and put everything away for the night. 

"I just don't get it!" the woman said while washing a dish. "I _just_ don't get it!" She then handed the dish to her husband. 

"Get what?" Mr. Izumi asked while drying off the dish he had handed her. 

"I can't help the fact that I feel Koushirou is keeping something from us. I am also not so sure if he was telling the truth about going over to Yagami's to study tomorrow." 

"Yoshie, I am surprised at you! Koushirou is _not_ the type to lie!" 

"I'm sorry, but it's true. That's the way I feel. It's the way he was talking when he first got home. He said something about making a promise and it has something to do with Mimi. Why is a promise about a study date so important? The way he was talking, he made it sound as if it were something important and he sounded very serious about it." 

"I think you are making a big deal out of nothing." 

"Maybe I am," the woman sighed. "Maybe I feel as if I am being shut out of his life more and more everyday and I just want to find my way back in. I know he isn't a little boy anymore, but I sometimes wish he still was. It's like I want him to grow up, but at the same time, I want him to remain the little boy we grew to know and love, forever..." 

"I'm sure all parents go through this." 

"I guess you're right," Mrs. Izumi said as she scrubbed out the last dish. 

"Of course I am. I bet it's natural for you to feel this way. I'm sure at some point in every parent's life, they feel as if they have grown slighty apart from their teenage son or daughter. Unfortunately, with us, we started to grow a bit apart from Koushirou at a younger age; before he even became a teen." He dried the last dish and put it away. "Now let's get out of this kitchen and watch some television and get your mind off of everything. You could use the rest and relaxation." 

"You go on ahead. I'm a bit tired. I didn't get much sleep last night, as you already know, so I'm going to head in early. If you want, you can help yourself to some Chocolate Chip Cookies. I baked them since neither one of us are all that fond of Chocolate Fudge Carrot Cake Brownies with jellybeans and sprinkles on top." 

"Thanks a lot. I will never understand where that boy gets his taste for these kinds of foods from. He makes up the strangest sounding combinations!" 

"Yeah, he does," the woman said slowly. 

"Well, good night and have a good rest," Mr. Izumi said, giving her a kiss. 

"Good night..."   
****   
Over at the Nishimura household... 

"Yes, Chinatsu-chan, it's true!" Mimi told her friend on the phone. "There's a chance I might not make it to her party." 

"No, not you! When Miyako-san told me, I was incredibly surprised! I was like, no, it can't be true! Mimi-chan _never_ misses a party!" 

"I don't plan on missing the _entire_ party." 

"Miyako-san said something about your having to go out of town tomorrow." 

"She did?" 

"She didn't say why or where, though. Your aunt and uncle planned an outing for the entire family or something?" 

"Well, yeah. I'm going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow." 

"Wow! How come?" 

"Well, I was invited along to go and I have to go." 

"Okay, I guess you have your reasons for going." The girl got quiet for a while, hoping that Mimi would say more. "C'mon, tell me why! I can't take it!" 

"I would, but I really can't." 

"Okay, I understand," the girl said while crying. "I'm just one of your best friends, you don't have to tell me anything," the girl said with a sniffle. 

"You've been getting lessons from Yuko-chan, haven't you?" Mimi laughed. 

"How could you tell?" 

"Because she never sounds convincing when she fake cries too," Mimi said, still laughing. 

"Can't get anything by you," Chinatsu laughed along. 

"How come you guys didn't tell me about the party earlier?" 

"We just assumed that you already knew. We got our invites during our Volleyball Club meet earlier this week. The one you missed, but we just figured that you would've known about it early anyway since you're such good friends with Sora-san and Taichi-senpai." 

Chinatsu truly adored and admired Taichi a lot. She looked up to him and had a great respect for him. She pretty much idolized him for his athletic abilities and at times, he helped her before her Volleyball matches, even though Volleyball wasn't one of Taichi's specialties. 

"True, but they assumed that you all would've told me. I _really_ wish I would've known about this earlier then I would've turned down going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow." 

"So, what are you going to do in Hikarigaoka?" 

"I dunno yet, actually, but shopping is _definitely_ on my list!" 

"Yeah! If the trip is going to be a disaster, why not make the best of it!" 

"That's our motto," Mimi smiled. 

"Well, I better get going. I'm going to hang out with Ayame-chan and Yuko-chan tonight. We're going to catch a movie and then we're going to hang out at the mall for a while, hoping to meet some cute guys there..." 

"You three are hopeless!" Mimi laughed. "You three are always boy hunting...you less than them, though." 

"Hey, just because almost every boy in school, minus Izumi, has an interest in you doesn't mean _we_ have to give up looking!" Chinatsu laughed. 

"Good point." 

"So, do you want to come with us? You could help Ayame-chan pick out something for the party tomorrow. Every boy in school is going to be at the party so you know everyone wants to look nice! You're our fashion consultant." 

"As much fun as that sounds, I think I'll have to pass." 

"Aww, you're supposed to be no fun tomorrow, not today." 

"I'm babysitting right now." 

"Oh." 

"I'm like the live-in babysitter here. I don't mind too much, though. I get extra cash for it." 

"Well, at least you're getting something out of it!" 

"Yep, sure am!" 

"Okay, see you later then!" 

"I have to go anyway. Ton is crying." 

"Bye bye, Mimi-sodate." 

*Note: That pretty much means, Baby-sitter Mimi...if I did that right. ^^'* 

The girl hanged up the phone and went to tend to her younger cousin who wanted something to eat. After she fed and bathed him, she sat him down to play with his toys while she sat down on the couch, looking through a clothes catalog. 

"Hmm, which outfit do I want," Mimi said while going through the catalog. "Ooo, that skirt looks kind of nice," she said while circling items in the catalog. "I could wear it to the first dance of the new school year along with that cute blouse..." 

"Neechan!" 

"Hi Isako. I see you're finally finished watching cartoons." 

The girl slumped down on the couch beside Mimi and frowned. 

"Isako-chan," the girl asked while putting her catalog down, "what's the matter?" 

"I'm bored," the younger girl complained. "Can Kou-chan or Take-chan or Hika-chan or Miya-chan come over?" 

"I don't think they'll be able to come over just to play with you, Isako." 

"I like your friends. They're fun! I want to be just like them!" 

"They're probably hanging out tonight just like everyone else. We're going on our last week of school, afterall. Why don't you play with your brother?" 

"Ton is boring! He's just a baby!" 

"You have to _show_ him how to have fun," Mimi said, trying her best to humor the girl. 

"Babies can't learn how to have fun." 

"Why do you say that?" Mimi asked. "Of course they can learn how to have fun." 

"No they can't! Babies aren't as smart as us big kids!" 

Mimi sighed and gave up. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Just looking through a catalog." 

"Ooh! I like your clothes, neechan! They're always pretty!" 

"Thank you," Mimi smiled at her. "I'm trying to find me a new outfit for the dance that's coming up when I become a senior later on this year." 

"Is Kou-chan going to get new clothes too?" 

"I don't know _what_ he's going to do or what he's doing or why he's acting the way that he is..." Mimi frowned. 

"Is Kou-chan still having trouble with his big kids work?" 

"Yeah, a little. He seems a bit sad." 

"Kou-chan is sad?" 

Mimi nodded. 

The younger girl thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to cheer "Kou-chan" up. 

"I know! Let's go out for ice cream to make him happy!" 

"How is _that_ going to make him happy?" Mimi asked, laughing at how cute Isako was acting. 

"I don't know, but I love ice cream!" 

"Well, it's getting late. It's time for you to take your bath and go to bed." 

"Aww, do I have to?" 

"Yep. Children your age need a lot of sleep. When you become big like me, you can stay up later." 

"But what about Ton? He's just a baby and he gets to stay up." 

"Oh no he's not. He's going to bed too. While you're taking your bath, he's going to be in his crib sound asleep." 

"Okay," the girl said. She then smiled. "I guess I like that idea." 

"Now you go get your pajamas and head on to the washroom while I put your brother down for the night." 

"Okay!" 

"Isako, don't run the bath yourself. Wait until I come in there so that I can run it for you." 

"Okay!" 

The girl ran off. Mimi picked up Ton who was falling asleep in her arms. 

"Looks like you're getting sleepy." 

The girl played with Ton a bit, who laughed playfully. She then put him down in his crib. The girl was about to go run Isako's bath, when she heard the doorbell. She ran to answer it. 

"Minna! (Everyone!)" Mimi said in surprise. "What are you doing here?" 

At the door were Hikari, Miyako, Chinatsu, Yuko, and Ayame. 

"Surprise!" Chinatsu cheered. 

"I was starting to get bored to death sitting here by myself," the girl said, grateful for the extra company. She then remembered her cousin. "Hey, come on in and have a seat. I'll be back in a while. Help yourselves to anything you want, but don't talk too loudly. I just got Ton down for the night." 

The girl ran off to tend to Isako before they could even respond. When she got to the wash room, Isako was all ready to get into the tub. 

"Sorry for taking so long." 

"Was that the door?" 

"Yeah, but let's not worry about that," Mimi said as she started running the bath water. "Time to get in and take your bath." 

The girl hopped into the tub filled with bubble bath. After a while, the girl finished bathing. Mimi helped to dry her off and got her into her pajamas. 

"Neechan, can you read me a story before I go to bed?" 

"Sure thing!" Mimi said in a rushed, yet still outgoing manner. "I would be happy to, but how about a short story?" 

"Okay." 

Mimi followed Isako to her bedroom where she hopped into bed. Mimi then chose a book from off the shelf. The thinnest one there. It was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Isako had heard the story lots of times, but she didn't mind hearing it again since Mimi was the one reading it to her. After the story, Mimi hugged Isako good night. After that, she went back down to her five unexpected guests. 

"There she is!" Hikari announced. 

"She's finally back," Ayame smiled. 

"I'm sorry guys. You just caught me at a bad time. I was giving Isako her bath and I then had to put her to bed." 

"No problem," Miyako told her. "We knew you were babysitting when we came over." 

"So, why are you guys here anyway?" 

"We just decided to hang out here since you said you might not be able to go to the party of Sora-san." 

"Yeah, because of your having to go to Hikarigaoka tomorrow," Ayame added on. 

"Good thing this trip wasn't a secret!" Mimi laughed while looking over at Miyako. 

Miyako laughed with a sweat drop. Miyako was terrible at keeping news to herself. 

"We also came over since you couldn't hang out with us at the mall since you were babysitting," Chinatsu explained. "We just decided to come over to keep you company." 

"We skipped the movie," Yuko added. 

"Miyako-san and me were at the mall and we ran into those three," Hikari explained. "They told us how you were stuck at home." 

"Thank you, everyone, for coming over," Mimi smiled. 

The group just sat there and talked about everything, like really good friends. They also played cards until Mimi's folks came back from their outing. Everyone then went home. After discussing with her aunt and uncle about her assignment and how she had to go to Hikarigaoka that next day, she headed on to bed herself, but she checked her many e-mails from her many admirers and friends first... 


	9. Koushirou's Search!

I know you all are probably still wondering if I'm going to make this a Mishirou fic or not yet. Who knows, but with the way this story is going, I don't think it will. But then again, my mind may change again. I guess you could say that there's a 50% chance that it will be a Koumi and a 50% chance of it not being one. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying this and thanks for the reviews. 

Now, as always, I do not own any of the characters or places associated with the show, the game, the manga, etc   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 9: Koushirou's Search!

The young girl was waiting around for her redheaded companion at the subway station. Apparently, Koushirou wanted to head out early. It was a little after 9:00. 

"Maybe if we hurry and do whatever it is we have to do, we'll get back in time for the party!" The girl then thought of the time the party was going to be held. "I bet if Taichi would have been the one to throw it, he would've thrown it at night, not early in the afternoon." 

The girl waited a bit longer, growing slightly annoyed. 

"Where in the world _is_ he!?!" Mimi muttered as she tapped her foot. "I could be sleeping right now!" 

Right at that moment, Koushirou showed up. The station was a bit crowded, so Koushirou didn't see Mimi right away. Mimi saw Koushirou from where she was, his red hair standing out, but it was obvious that he didn't see her, so the girl tried her best to get his attention... 

"Koushirou! Koushirou-kun!" the girl called while waving her arms and jumping up and down. "Over here!" 

The boy saw the elegant girl and walked up to her. Mimi was dressed very nicely. She was wearing a dark red skirt, a close fitting, short-sleeved yellow blouse, a white jacket, and a pair of expensive looking boots. This was definitely flashy for her now-a-days. She dressed more casually compared to when she was younger. She normally wore jeans, or if she _did_ decide to wear skirts or dresses outside of school, which was more than when she wore jeans, they weren't too "dressy" looking. 

Mimi had totally matured in that sense and wasn't so self absorbed when it came to fashion, outer beauty, or what everyone else thought of her and her choice of friends showed that. Her peers always thought of her as a bit strange since she _was_ such good friends with Koushirou. She was still pretty popular, but she was never looked down upon for her choice of friends that weren't with the "in" crowd. The main reason she probably stayed _really _popular, though, was because she was good friends with the local celebrity, Yamato, and he also was friends with Koushirou. That was probably another reason why Koushirou was never teased much as well. "If Yamato thinks he is cool, then he must be all right," people would think. 

"Hi, Mimi-san. Ready to go?" 

"Yeah, sure, I guess so," the girl said, forced enthusiasm in her voice. 

"Okay. We have to take the C train and then transfer over to the F..." 

The girl started to tune Koushirou out. Right now, she was concerned as to why she had agreed to such a thing, going to Hikarigaoka. For once in her life, her nosiness, which she got from her mother, had gotten her into a real predicament, well not a serious one of course, but she still would rather be doing something else. She wanted to spend the morning getting ready for the big party, or sleeping in at least... 

"I guess I could do a _little_ bit of shipping while I'm there, like I told Chinatsu-chan. I always accessorize for parties," the girl said to herself, smiling at the thought. 

"Mimi-san? Mimi-san?" 

"Oh, um, sorry." 

"You don't have to come with me and I would understand completely if you would rather do whatever it is you would normally do on a Sunday morning." 

"Oh no you don't! You're not getting rid of me _that_ easily! I'm going and _that's_ final!" she told him. "Besides, I promised Miyako-chan that I would," she said to herself. 

"Whatever," he sighed. "Let's go. The train is here." 

The two boarded onto the subway car and took their seats. It was pretty crowded for a Sunday morning. Mimi figured that other children, like themselves, were trying to beat the crowd. Having only one free day a week was pretty stressful. One thing Mimi missed about America, other than her friend Michael, was the school system, pretty much. She missed having both Saturday and Sunday off instead of just Sunday. She also missed the extra long summer breaks and not having to go to school all year round. 

"Well, let's see," Mimi said to herself. "What places in Hikarigaoka are good for shopping..." 

"I wonder where my parents are now and why they put me up for adoption," Koushirou wondered in thought. "What if I find out that they didn't _want_ me to begin with and my chances of reconciling with them is pretty low. If that's the case, I will have no place to belong..." 

"I wonder who Hikari-chan has a thing for! I bet it's Takeru-kun! They _have_ been through quite a bit together, but they probably didn't see much of each other until Takeru-kun moved to Odaiba with his mother a few years ago. I wonder if it _is_ Daisuke-kun! He is nice and he is always there for you whenever you need help and Hikari-chan _has_ known him a little longer than Takeru-kun. No, wait! I think I know! What if it's not neither one of them. I wonder if Hikari-chan is just using Takeru-kun and Daisuke-kun as a front because she _really_ likes, Ichijijouji-kun or some other boy! Nah, that's _too_ farfetched. She came right out and said that it was either Daisuke-kun or Takeru-kun. I wonder who it could be..." 

The two continued their ride in silence, drowned in their own thoughts. Mimi's thoughts being moreso fun and playful, while Koushirou's was moreso serious and somber. They switched trains like Koushirou explained they would have to do earlier, but the two still remained pretty quiet towards one another. The usual, sociable Mimi wasn't too "social" because Koushirou wasn't making much of an attempt to be social or speak with her. 

The long ride had finally ended and the two hopped off. 

"Ooh, we're finally in Hikarigaoka!" Mimi cheered while twirling around. "I am _definitely_ hitting the mall!" 

"The mall?" 

"Of course! The malls here in Hikarigaoka are some of the best in this part of Japan! Mama and I used to come to Hikarigaoka all the time whenever we had shopping to do." 

"Whatever," Koushirou shrugged. 

The boy, to Mimi, sounded a bit annoyed since she had mentioned wanting to go shopping. She hated to upset or annoy anyone. It wasn't her style to...not purposely anyway. 

"I-I-I mean after we do whatever is _you_ have to do first, of course," the girl added quickly. 

"Yeah, I guess." 

"Way to go, Mimi!" Mimi sarcastically muttered, scolding herself. "So, where are we going first?" 

"I'm not too sure yet." 

The girl didn't question him, but tagged along anyway. They ended up riding all over Hikarigaoka. Adorable little Koushi had copied his directions wrong. ^^ 

Riding all over Hikarigaoka was fun, at first, but it was now getting frustrating. Mimi was starting to get a _tad_ bit annoyed with Koushirou and his dragging her all around the big city. 

First off, she wanted to go to Sora's party and she didn't get anything done, like clothes shopping. She was also starting to get hungry. It was already half past 11:00 and she hadn't eaten anything that morning before leaving to meet up with Koushirou. 

"Koushirou, I'm getting hungry," Mimi unintentionally whined while holding her growling stomach. "We've been sightseeing all day! Couldn't we stop to get something to eat or drink?" 

The boy ignored Mimi just like he had that time when both of them were trapped in the temple. By him ignoring her, that time, she ran off and got herself lost in the labyrinth. 

One thing Mimi hated more than anything was being ignored, especially when she wanted something or felt she needed something. Right now, she "needed" something to eat and drink. 

"_Kou_shirou-kun!!" 

He continued to study the map that he had picked up after he finally realized he was lost. 

"Are you ignoring me you computer geek pipsqueak!!" 

The girl was annoyed and she felt a bit childish for having to resort to name calling, especially "computer geek pipsqueak." It was a bit inaccurate since Koushirou wasn't much of a "pipsqueak" anymore. Even with this, Koushirou still ignored her. 

"Koushirou _ba_ka!!" the girl shouted at him angrily. 

With that, the girl stomped her foot and walked off in the opposite direction. 

"Okay, I think I've got it. I just got my street names mixed up," Koushirou finally said, oblivious to all that had just happened. "Pretty silly, huh?" 

When Koushirou didn't hear a response, he started to look around, realizing that he had been talking to himself. 

"Mimi-san?" The only thing the boy saw were other people walking the streets of the big city. "Where did she go?" he asked himself. 

The redhead looked around, calling out for her some more... 

"Mimi-san! Mimi-san!" 

The boy stopped his search to think for a moment. 

"Where would she go? When did she leave? _Why_ would she leave?" He scratched his head a bit in confusion, trying to recall his last speaking with her directly. "She kept talking about shopping and eating or something." He then muttered, "I _should_ just leave her and go to the place by myself!" 

Koushirou shook his head, realizing that that wouldn't be such a good idea. 

"I can't do that," he sighed. "It would be rude. Besides, I know Mimi-san pretty well and I have an idea where she might be. I guess I should head on over to the biggest mall this city has to offer, or the one closest by." Koushirou frowned at the thought of going to the mall. "I _hate_ having to go to the mall, but I can't not just go. I have to obtain this information!" 

A person nearby, who had just come from an outdoor vendor who was selling drinks, overheard the redhead and frowned a bit at her own selfishness... 

"I shouldn't be so selfish," the girl said. "I shouldn't have stormed off, but I was hungry and thirsty and we've been lost _all_ day! I feel like Ryoga from Ranma 1/2 or those kids on that Pocket Monsters show!" 

The girl saw Koushirou walk off and she followed behind him at a distance, sipping on the drink she had bought. She was curious as to what he was going to do and if he really _was_ going to go to the mall, a place he totally despises going, unless he had a reason to actually go, just to try and find her. 

The walk lasted a pretty good while, Mimi still following Koushirou, who was following the signs that led up to the mall. The walk would've continued, but Koushirou stopped in front of a big, plain looking building with a playground and a bunch of children playing outside. 

"Why did he stop here?" Mimi wondered to herself. 

She got a little closer, but remained unseen. 

"The mall is just a few more blocks away from here..." 

"I found it!" Koushirou gasped. 

"He found it? What did he find?" 

The girl looked at the building, reading the big sign. 

"Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency & Orphanage?" she read. "Why would he want to go in there?" 


	10. Mimi's Discovery!

I just notice how part 10 is normally my "turn around" part. Anyone else ever notice that's read other stories by me? Seems that things are always "semi" explained whenever I write a fic that gets up to a part 10. 

Everything I used in the last part is from the original ep where Koushirou and Mimi were trapped in that temple, minus the "Computer Geek Pipsqueak" thing since that's from the English dubbed version. The "Koushirou-baka" and everything is from the original. It's one of my fav eps, along with the one with Bakemon terrorizing Jou and Sora, and no people, Jou doesn't say "Bakemon lose your power," in the original version. He's actually using a shinto chant. 

Anyway, I like the original version of that ep _much_ better than the dubbed version. I like it better mainly because Koushirou seemed a bit more concerned about Tentomon and Mimi when comparing him to here. Also, when Tentomon was saying that something was wrong after Koushirou just stopped talking abruptly here, in the original, Koushirou _was_ talking to them and warning them that something was in the maze with them and to get away. Tentomon didn't speak at all for that entire scene because Koushirou was doing all of the talking. I guess it's easy to give lines to a character whose mouth never moves n e way. :-p I _really_ disliked that, though. Here, it seemed as if Izzy didn't care to much whether they got out safely or not, whereas there, he was throwing out suggestions and stuff. Another reason I liked the ep was because of how they ended up with each other's partner. Koushirou with Mimi's Palmon, and Mimi with Koushirou's Tentomon. 

Another thing, the Centauramon (sp?) that was in the maze, didn't talk until _after_ the Black Gear was taken from out of him. He didn't speak until he explained about the Digivices to Koushirou and Mimi. That was pretty much how it was with most of the Black Gear Digimon they encountered. As a matter of fact, Unimon never spoke at all in the ep where Gomamon evolved to Ikkakumon for the first time to save Jou. They just removed the gear and he just flew off, not uttering one single line and when he returns as one of their allies that Mimi found at the end of 01, he didn't speak. Never mind all of that though. How is this fic so far? Don't forget to leave those comments and reviews. They are highly appreciated. ^_^ Now, as always, I do not own any of the characters or places associated with the game, manga, or show.   
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Part 10: The Discovery of Mimi!

The walk lasted a pretty good while, Mimi still following Koushirou, who was following the signs that led up to the mall. The walk would've continued, but   
Koushirou stopped in front of a big, plain looking building with a playground and a bunch of children playing outside. 

"Why did he stop here?" Mimi wondered to herself. 

She got a little closer, but remained unseen. 

"The mall is just a few more blocks away from here..." 

"I found it!" Koushirou gasped. 

"He found it? What did he find?" 

The girl looked at the building, reading the big sign. 

"Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency & Orphanage?" she read. "Why would he want to go in there?" 

"All of the answers I have been searching for is right here in this building." 

Mimi watched Koushirou stand there, staring at the building. To her, it looked as if he were debating with himself over something. 

"But what about Mimi-san? I should really go and find her...but I am _right_ here.." 

The boy shook his head. 

"No, I need to know! I'm going in! Mimi-san will _just_ have to wait!" 

The boy sighed. 

"I am sorry, Mimi-san, but this is more important than your shopping obsession," he said to himself. 

With that, the boy walked up the pathway and entered the building. 

"He went in? I wonder why..." 

The girl shrugged. 

"Maybe he does community service." 

The girl decided to follow him in, but decided to keep a low profile and to remain unseen. Her curiosity was getting the best of her now. 

"I wonder where I go," Koushirou muttered out aloud. 

The boy looked around and saw a lot of young children playing. The place resembled an orphanage more so than an Adoption Agency. Koushirou just assumed that over the years, it had been changed to one. A little ways behind, Mimi was snooping. She was trying to figure out _why_ Koushirou would be in such a place, not even assuming the obvious. 

One of the children who was sitting by themselves, saw Koushirou and ran up to him. It was a young girl and she looked to be about four years in age. 

"Are _you_ going to be my new brother?" the girl asked. 

"Um, excuse me?" 

"Are you going to be my new brother?" 

"Your new brother?" 

The girl nodded. 

"Can you be my new brother?" 

The girl lowered her head. 

"I don't have my real big brother anymore," the girl said with a frown. "The orphan people told me that he is never going to come back and neither is my mommy & daddy and that I am going to get a new mommy and daddy and maybe a new big brother too!" 

"I can not be your brother, I am afraid..." 

The girl looked as if she were about to cry. Koushirou noticed and continued on. 

"...but I _can_ be your friend. My name is Koushirou." 

The girl smiled and hugged Koushirou. Koushirou didn't really know how to react to the girl's sudden show of affection. He really wasn't the affectionate or emotional type. He just hugged the girl awkwardly back. Mimi, who had ducked her head out a bit more from behind the tall potted plant she was hiding behind, saw this and smiled a bit. The sight of Koushirou with a young child was cute to her and his expression was pretty funny, which caused her to giggle a bit. She couldn't wait to get back and tell Miyako about all that she was seeing. 

"Yay!" the girl cheered. "My name is Kimiko! Are you going to take me home with you? It would be so nice to have a big brother and a mommy and a daddy again!" 

"I-I would, but I can't," Koushirou told her, feeling a bit sorry for the girl. 

"Oh..." 

The girl, once again, looked like she was about to cry, which caused Koushirou to panic again, just like he had earlier. 

"No, wait! Don't get sad. I, um, promise that I will visit you and the other children every Sunday until you can find a family of your own. I can act as your big brother until you get a real one again," Koushirou said on the spur of the moment. 

"I would really like that!" the girl smiled. She then cheered. "I finally have a big brother again! I loved my big brother. He used to play with me all the time when mommy and daddy was away. When I came home from daycare with Aunty Yoko, our whole home was gone. Koto-niichan was there too," the girl explained, her head lowered.   
****   
"That poor girl," Mimi said to herself, still in her hiding spot. "Her entire family must was killed. I wonder if their place caught fire."   
****   
Before Koushirou could respond to Kimiko's sad story, another small child ran up to Kimiko. It was a boy who looked to be about six or seven years in age. 

"Kimiko-chan, we want to play Hide & Seek, but we need another player." 

"Ooh! I love Hide & Seek! I'd love to play, Motoki." The girl then turned her attention towards Koushirou. "Do you want to play too, oniichan?" 

"No thank you. You should go on and play with your friend." 

"Okay, oniichan!" the girl said, running off with her friend. "Bye Bye!"   
****   
"That was really sweet and kind of Koushirou to promise to come here to see that girl every week. I'm sure that made her day. Being all alone like that, a friend would be most helpful to have."   
****   
"Who's that guy?" Motoki asked Kimiko as the two headed out towards the playground. 

"My new big brother! Isn't that great!" 

"Cool! Maybe one day I can find a family too." 

While the two were running, Kimiko noticed Mimi standing behind the potted plant. 

"I wonder what that girl is doing." 

"Who knows," Motoki shrugged. "Let's just go play!"   
****   
Koushirou found his way to the front desk. There were three people sitting there...two women, and one man. The oldest looking one of the group looked to be the least busy, so Koushirou went to her. 

"Konnichiwa," the woman responded cheerfully. "Watashi wa Mitsuishi Kiyoko desu." 

"Um, hi, Mitsuishi-san..." 

"How may I help you?" She then gave Koushirou a look. "You look a bit young to be adopting or fostering a child."   
****   
"I'll say..."   
****   
"No, no, it is nothing like that," Koushirou assured her. "I just need a little information," he said slowly. 

"Information? What kind of information?"   
****   
"I was just wondering the same thing..." Mimi muttered to herself.   
****   
"Well, I..." 

"Oh no!" Mrs. Mitsuishi interrupted before Koushirou could finish. "I hope you are not here for what I _think_ you are here for!" 

"Huh?" 

"Young people your age come here all the time now-a-days, hoping that their parents never find out...afraid of bringing shame to their family." 

"They do?" 

She nodded. 

"I should have these right up here since you children don't know how to control yourselves now-a-days so often, which is really a shame when you get right down to it," the woman said while looking for some papers. "Back in my day, we waited. At least you are being responsible, though, and are willing to take responsiblity. It's not often we see stuff like that." 

A moment later, she found the paper she was looking for. 

"Here is the paper work that you will need for your situation and it should explain everything you need to know," she said, handing the paper to Koushirou. "Now, where is the girl?" 

While waiting for Koushirou to respond, Mrs. Mitsuishi noticed a person standing a little ways behind Koushirou. 

"I wonder if it is that tanned hair girl that is standing in the back," she said to herself. "She looks about his age. I wonder why she is back there anyway. She looks as if she is waiting to be invited up here." 

"Girl?" Koushirou asked. 

"Yes, the girl whose baby you fathered that you now have to put up for adoption since you can not afford to keep it." 

"What!?!" both Koushirou and Mimi said at the same time, only Mimi said it to herself and Koushirou's face had gone completely red. 

"That wasn't the response I was expecting. Where is the child and the girl? If your parents didn't notice the child then she must be a really stout girl who didn't look as if she weren't pregnant at all, or either she's the very small type who only looked like she gained a small amount of weight. How old is the child and how long ago did the girl have it? We must have this information." The woman was quiet for a short moment. "Hmm, I guess she hasn't had the child yet and you are just here to make the arrangements early..."   
****   
"Oh my gosh! Koushirou is a father!" Mimi said to herself, still pretty shocked over what she had just heard. "Is that why he is here? To get the papers to get the child put up for adoption?" 

The girl got out of her shocked mode temporarily, thinking over the situation. 

"Whoa, I never knew Koushirou had it in him to actually _do_ that. He's more experienced than I thought when it comes to girls. Wow, he has himself a secret lover, whom of which he's never told us about." 

The girl then mentally slapped herself. 

"What in the world am I saying! Koushirou got someone _preg_nant! Mr. I only like to sit in front of the computer and ignore girls, got somebody pregnant!" She then shuddered a bit. "Why does that sound so wrong and disturbing to me..."   
****   
It took him a while, but he finally came back to reality to defend himself, his face still incredibly red... 

"No, I am _not_ a father! I don't even date! I do _not_ have any children! I don't even have a girlfriend!" He then thought, "_That's_ common?!"   
****   
Hearing this, Mimi sighed out in relief. 

"Whew, that's a relief. Koushirou getting someone pregnant literally disturbs me, but then again, I would feel that way about Taichi-san, Jou-senpai, and Yamato-san too. I would get _incredibly_ disturbed if Takeru-kun, Ichijouji-kun, or Daisuke-kun did and even _more_ disturbed if Iori-kun did! They would probably have to lock me up since I would pass out from the shock!"   
****   
"Oops, my mistake," the woman said with a nervous sweat drop. She took the papers and put them away. "I am really sorry about that. It's just I get so many children coming in here now-a-days with children that they can't afford to take care of." 

"That's okay," Koushirou said, still a bit flabbergasted over the accusation. He literally couldn't imagine himself in the situation. 

"Now, what type of information did you say you needed?" 

"I need information about one's adoption. I am trying to find out about someone's adoption."   
****   
"Why?" Mimi wondered. "I wonder if one of his parents are adopted and hates to talk about it, which is why Koushirou came all the way here. Maybe one of them was adopted from here. I wouldn't be surprised if his entire family was from here."   
****   
"Young man, I can not give out such confidential information unless those involved with the adoption itself is present!" 

"I am more involved than you know," Koushirou muttered under his breath. 

"I have been here for almost 20 years and this is the first time a child has come in requesting such a thing." 

"Gomen..." 

"Cheer up, you look like a good kid," the woman smiled at him. "I am sure I could explain the procedures of how one is adopted," she said to herself, coming to that particular decision. 

"I don't mean to cause any trouble," Koushirou told her. 

"I figured that. Anyway, I may be able to tell you something based on my own knowledge. I remember some adoption cases more so than others." 

"I guess that will work. I am curious about the Izumis. Do you know anything about them?" 

"I was _not_ expecting him to give me a name. I wonder if I should really tell him anything about them," the woman debated with herself. She then said to Koushirou, "The name is familiar, but there are probably a lot of Izumis around here. The name _is_ quite common." 

"You don't remember any case dealing with the Izumis?" 

"Well, now that you mention it, I _do_ remember this one case dealing with this couple who wanted to adopt a child badly and luckily, they found one. I remember their case because I dealt with it personally and some cases are more memorable than others. Their particular case was, especially with what the child they had adopted had been through as well as themselves. They were Izumis," she told him. 

"Interesting," Koushirou said, growing more curious about the Izumis. 

"I remember them fairly well," the woman said to herself. "I always wondered what happened to them and how they are getting along now with that child they adopted. Now, what were their names? I don't remember the child's name, I probably would know it if I heard it though. Their names were Masami and...oh yeah, Yoshie! I also remember that case because I semi knew the child's _real_ parents..." 

"Why were they so anxious to adopt a child?" 

"Pretty sad story, but I feel that it is not my place to say. You _are_ a stranger afterall. I am saying more than what I should right now." The woman then gave Koushirou a suspicious look. "Who _are_ you and why are you concerned about the Izumis?" 

"Izumi Koushirou..." 

"Koushirou?!?" The woman then said to herself, "That was the name of the child they adopted, I remember that now..." 

"Yes, that is my name." 

"Are you the son of Izumi Masami and Izumi Yoshie?" 

"Yes." 

"Do you mind if I see some identification?" 

"No problem. I don't mind." 

Koushirou took out his identification card and showed it to the lady. Koushirou was, indeed, who he said he was. 

"So, you really _are_ who you say you are," the woman said as she looked over the ID. 

The boy nodded.   
****   
"I wonder what's going on..."   
****   
"So, you are curious about the adoption," she said, handing Koushirou back his ID. "What have they told you?" 

Koushirou lowered his head and said, "Nothing. They do not know that I know." 

"Oh." 

"I want to find my real parents. I feel that it is time that I meet them face to face..."   
****   
"_Real_ parents!?! Koushirou is adopted?!?" 


	11. Questions & Answers!

Here you are, all. The next part. Now, after this upcoming week, I don't know when I will be able to put up another part since I can't get online at home anymore due to modem trouble. I still can't figure out what is wrong. I have written a lot so far and decided to put this part and the next part together since I have no idea when I will be able to get to a computer with internet access to upload it. 

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this part and I hope it isn't _too_ unrealistic or anything. I am a bit nervous about the 13th part of this fic, but never mind that. 

Another thing, I don't know why links don't seem to work anymore when I post up parts. I never had that trouble before, but I seem to now. Maybe if I am lucky, they will show up this time since ff.net has been worked on a bit more. Anyway, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated with the game, manga, show, etc.   
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Part 11: Questions & Answers...

"So, you are curious about the adoption," she said, handing Koushirou back his ID. "What have they told you?" 

Koushirou lowered his head and said, "Nothing. They do not know that I know." 

"Oh." 

"I want to find my real parents. I feel that it is time that I meet them face to face..."   
****   
"_Real_ parents!?! Koushirou is adopted?!?" 

The girl was very surprised at the news and had finally figured out what had been bothering Koushirou. 

"Is this why he's been acting so strange lately?"   
****   
"Mr. Izumi, would you like to go someplace and talk?" 

"Yes, I would," he nodded. "I have found out a couple of things about myself that I want more information on." 

"Your place of birth?" 

The boy nodded. 

"There are conference rooms here, we can go to one of them, preferbly my office." 

The boy hesitated to move. 

"What is the matter?" 

"I can not stay. I really have to find my friend." 

"Tell me, what does this gir...er friend look like?" Mrs. Mitsuishi asked with a smile. She had an idea who Koushirou was looking for. 

"Well, she is about my height, has tannish-blonde hair, she's wearing a skirt, but I don't remember the color or anything..." 

"I am sure that you will find her as soon as she wants to be found."   
****   
"I think they know I'm here. They've gotten too quiet and I can't hear them too well anymore." 

The girl stepped from behind her hiding spot. 

"I guess I've been spying long enough..."   
****   
"What do you mean?" Koushirou asked. 

"Take a look behind you," the woman whispered. 

"Behind me?" Koushirou asked, puzzled. 

She nodded. 

Koushirou turned and and saw that the girl he had described, was a little ways behind him. 

"Mimi-san!" 

"Hey there, Koushirou," she said while walking up beside him. "How's it going?" 

"How long have you been here?" 

"She has been here for a while. I noticed her ducking and hiding for a while. I just didn't say anything." 

"Here I am looking all over for you, and you were here the entire time!" 

"Sorry..." 

"Forget it," he sighed. He then got quiet. "I guess you heard." 

She nodded. 

"You are trying to obtain some information about your biological parents." 

He nodded. Before Mimi could continue, Mrs. Mitsuishi spoke up. 

"If you really want that information, you can go into the conference room while I gather it for you." 

"Okay." 

"Just hold on for a moment." 

The lady went over to the other two people who also dealt with those who came in. She was letting them know that she had a client to work with. 

"Okay, let us go. It is right this way." 

Koushirou headed towards the room, following behind Mrs. Mitsuishi. Mimi watched them as they both walked off. Koushirou noticed that it was just him following behind Mrs. Mitsuishi and stopped. He then turned around and noticed that Mimi wasn't with him. 

"You _are_ my partner, so you should probably come along with me." 

The girl nodded awkwardly. She wasn't sure if she should hear such information or not, but she caught up with him anyway. After they made it to the conference room, both took a seat in front of a desk. Mrs. Mitsuishi left them both in there to go get the paperwork on Koushirou's adoption. 

During their short time in there, Mimi was a bit nervous. She had lots of questions for Koushirou, but she felt that it might offend him in some way. _Especially_ the obvious, "What is it like to be adopted," question. One question that racked her mind, though, was how he had found out about his adoption to begin with if neither Mr. nor Mrs. Izumi ever mentioned it to him. 

Mrs. Mitsuishi returned with a folder filled with different papers. She took a seat behind the desk and started to look through the folder. 

"After a while, I started to remember your case. I handled that one myself. The only reason I remember your case is because you were the fastest case I ever had to deal with and was also one of my first ones when I started working here full time." 

"Excuse me?" 

"It didn't take us _too_ long to find a couple that was willing to take you in." 

"So, what happened? Is there any way I can find my _real_ family?" He then muttered, "The sooner the better..." 

"Izumi-san, is there something the matter?" 

"No, the old place is going to be a bit crowded in about a year and I would like to contact my real parents..."   
****   
"The baby!" Mimi thought, coming to the realizatinon of why Koushirou was acting so strange. "He's doing this because he isn't all that fond of Mrs. Izumi's being pregnant. I wonder if he's actually..._jealous_. Like sibling rivalry or something, like Miyako-chan and her siblings."   
****   
"That is going to be a bit difficult to do, Mr. Izumi." 

"Why did my biological parents put me up for adoption? Was I born to an unwed mother who couldn't take care of me or embarassed her family because of it? Did they just hate the idea of becoming parents and would rather get rid of me than to actually try? Tell me! I have a right to know that _and _of my true place of birth as well as the names of my biological parents!" 

"Okay, if you must know, I will tell you." 

The lady then gave Mimi a look. Mimi got the hint and was about to leave. 

"No, wait. I want her to stay. She's my partner through all of this," he then glanced over at her, "and my friend..." 

"Okay, if you insist," the woman smiled. 

The lady poured herself a cup of tea and ran her fingers through her short, stringy blonde hair while Mimi took her seat again.   
****   
"That was nice of him to allow me to stay. Besides, I'm nosy and I'm curious what's going on! Okay, never mind that. I'm just curious what his real family is like. I wonder if they were a bunch of computer nerds too."   
****   
"Your mother and father were not wed when they had you. Supposedly, they had been together for a long time. Why they never married is unknown, unless you could find some friends that knew them very well. They could probably tell you why they never married, but other than that, it probably really isn't any of our business." 

"I suppose..." 

"The two were pretty well known. I actually remember them." 

"You _knew_ my biological parents!?!" 

"In a way. I didn't know them personally, but I knew _of_ them. I used to be a student teacher at their University when they were still students."   
****   
"She must be much older than she looks..."   
****   
"Your father was a very smart individual. Great with mathematics and technical stuff." The woman laughed a bit. "All that was over my head. I was a student teacher in English Literature. He was fairly well known too, pretty popular." 

"I'm the complete opposite," Koushirou muttered to himself. 

Mrs. Mitsuishi started to study Koushirou and gave him a smile. 

"You know, you resemble him a bit. I don't know _how_ I missed it! It's the eyes. You look a little like him, but you look like a clone of your mother. I can see a lot of your mother's features in you. Well, never mind that. The two went to the University together and met there I am guessing. I am not too sure. Oh, it was Tokyo University, btw." 

"*Tokyo _U_!?!" both Mimi and Koushirou exclaimed. 

"Yep, one of the toughest places to get into," she confirmed. "Anyway, your father and mother both graduated from there. Your father, who found the University life fascinating and exhilerating, decided to make a career out of it. He originally went to school for engineering, but decided to become a teacher instead. He moved to Odaiba, along with your mother, and became an instructor at Odaiba University. He was well known there. I got to know him after a while. I had a job there as an English Professor as a side job. I taught night classes. I dropped out of the teaching profession altogether about 14, 15 years ago and moved here to Hikarigaoka to work here at the orphanage permenantly. I feel that helping children find homes is my calling moreso than teaching them or young adults." 

She sipped on her tea before continuing on. 

"Now, I know you are wondering about your birth and how, on paper, you are not considered a full Japanese...inhabitant I guess you could say. You know what I mean, right?" 

Koushirou nodded. Mimi shrugged. She didn't get what she meant. 

"Your father was asked, along with a bunch of other University Instructors all over Japan, to go to this conference in America. I, unfortunately, was not able to attend, mainly because I had work that needed to be done here. Your father was picked to go. I am only assuming that your mother wanted to go as well. She was already pregnant with you and looked to be pretty far along. This is all I know...she and your father left with it being just the two of them and came back with an addition. They stayed in America for a few months before returning with you. Everyone that was a part of the staff at Odaiba University threw a big party for them. I was there too, even though I was about to resign from the business." 

"Koushirou-kun..." 

"Hai," Mrs. Mitsuishi nodded to Mimi. "He was born in New York City, not here in Hikarigaoka like you all thought since you were probably living here with the Izumis." 

Koushirou nodded. The news surprised Mimi. She had an "American" friend that didn't know a thing about America. 

"Up until recently, I always thought I was born in Hikarigaoka since I had lived here at such an early age. I have known for years that I was adopted, but I had _no_ idea that I wasn't even a full blooded Japanese citizen!" 

"In a way, you are. Both of your parents were Japanese, which makes you a full blooded Japanese person, it's just that you were not born here in Japan which is why you are considered to be Japanese American on paper since you were born over there." 

"I suppose, but it is still surprising," he muttered. 

"About how long have you known of your adoption?" 

"I don't know," he said while scratching his head. "I guess ever since I was about eight..."   
****   
"Second grade?" Mimi asked herself. She then remembered back to when she and Koushirou first got the assignment and he was so against doing it. 

_"Well, I was just wondering if, well, I could get out of doing it," Koushirou finally said. "Could I maybe be exempt, like Mimi-san here? I have an A average, a low A average, but I've kept it this entire school year!"_

_"Is there any particular reason why you want to get out of this assignment?"_

_"Um...no, not really," he said while lowering his head._

_"Then I can't allow you to get out of this assignment. Tachikawa's situation is different. She has special living arrangements and doesn't live with her mother and father."_

_"Yes sir."_

_"To be honest, I really want you to work on this project," the man admitted. "I've seen projects similar to these that you've done in the past from previous years and they're all quite dull, Mr. Izumi. I've pulled up files on you going back to your second grade year and any type of an assignment dealing with family is dull. Only worth C material or lower."_

_"That's why I didn't want to do the assignment, sir," Koushirou lied._

_"It seems that whenever your parents are mentioned in general, you seem to space out," Mr. Ishidzuka said while taking off his glasses. "Any assignment dealing with your family is never done with your full potential."_

"So_ that's_ why he's done terribly over the years. His carrying around this secret for all of these years had been depressing him, which is why he has never been able to do good on any type of an assignment dealing with his family."   
****   
"That is a long time to carry around a secret like that, Mr. Izumi." 

"You have said all of these things about my father, but nothing about my mother other than she had me in America and that she and my biological father were never married. What was she like?" Koushirou asked, getting off the subject of how long he had known of his being adopted. 

"She was just as smart as your father, only not as popular, and she wasn't into mathematics like him. You look exactly like her, minus the glasses of course. She was very pretty, but pretty lonesome and quite quiet." 

"Lonesome how?" 

"She, too, was put up for adoption."   
****   
"It must run in the family or something," Mimi muttered to herself.   
****   
"Really?" 

She nodded. 

"Your mother was from Odaiba. She was living in the orphanage there, but she was, unfortunately, never adopted. She got into the University on a full scholarship since she had no family to help pay for her to go to such an exclusive school." 

"Wait, how do you know all of this stuff?" Mimi asked. "If you deal with lots and lots of cases, how come this one is so memorable to you?" 

"Like I said, it was an early case of mine and it didn't take us long to place Mr. Izumi. And I also _semi_ knew his parents. Only semi because they were much younger than me and they had their own crowd to hang out with." 

"I know, but seems like everything you've said so far, seems like something that only a close friend would know. Not an acquaitance." 

"Just call me observant," the woman smiled. "Those two _were_ the best couple around and it was a real pleasure working with Mr. Izumi's real father." 

"But how do you know about Koushirou's mother being put up for adoption too?" 

"When the child of a couple is brought in, we have to find out the parent or parents' past history." 

"Oh..." 

"So, what about my mother?" 

"After she moved back to Odaiba with your father, she became a teacher. She always seemed like the type that would love children. She taught at Odaiba Elementary." 

"So both of my parents were teachers?" 

"Yes, but she taught for different reasons. Your father just wanted to share his knowledge of mathematics with everyone, which is why he chose to become a mathematician, but your mother just liked the idea of helping others. While in the University, in her spare time, your mother used to do volunteer work at the nearby Children's Hospital. She really loved children, I am assuming, since she was so faithful when it came to going. That was her extra curricular activity. I am also assuming that is why she taught Elementary School, to be with children." 

"At least we know where you got your math skills from if your father was a mathematician," Mimi smiled. 

The boy nodded but started to frown a bit. 

"What's wrong?" Mimi asked. 

Koushirou ignored Mimi's question and turned his attention back to Mrs. Mitsuishi. 

"You still haven't told me why I was put up for adoption. Here you are saying that my mother loved children, yet she left me to complete strangers..." 

"Sorry," the woman apologized. She then lowered her head. "Poor Hiroaki-kun & Miki-san." 

"Those were their names? My father's name was 'Hiroaki' and my mother's was 'Miki'?" 

The lady nodded. 

"Fukami Hiroaki & Misayoshi Miki. It was pretty sad, their situation." 

"It could not be helped, their putting me up for adoption, could it?" 

The woman nodded sadly. 

"You see, you will never be able to locate your parents. They are both..." 

"Both what?" 

"Maybe I am not the right one to tell you this. You should really talk to the Izumis ab---" 

"No!" Koushirou shouted as he stood up, pounding his fist down on the desk in frustration. 

Mimi started to feel sorry for Koushirou at that moment. She had never see him so upset over anything before. She couldn't even recall a time where he had lost his temper out of all of the years she had known him. 

"They haven't told me anything after all of this time! What makes you think that they would say something now!?! They had their chances and blew _all_ of them! I had to find out for my_self_ that I wasn't really their son and I just found out a couple of _nights_ ago that I wasn't even _born_ here in Japan! I have a right to know all of this! I don't even know my _real_ name!!" 

"It was Misayoshi Koushirou," the woman said, looking down at the adoption papers. "You were given your mother's family name. The Izumis changed it when they adopted you. Now, as for your parents, they are both...deceased. They were both killed in a terrible auto accident." 

Mimi gasped. Koushirou looked as if the entire world had just collapsed on him. He wasn't expecting something like that. 

"They are...dead?!?" he asked slowly, sitting back down. 

The woman nodded. 

"It was caused by a drunk driver. It was a miracle that you survived that crash." 

"I was with my parents when they died?!?" 

"I suppose so. The papers say that you were and I doubt reporters would make something like that up. If I am remembering right, one of the policeman at the scene said that it was a miracle that the child survived the crash since your mother was holding you and it looked as if she were trying to protect you. Like she knew something was going to happen." 

The woman started to type on the computer on her desk. 

"Psychic abilities?" Mimi asked. 

"Maybe," she said as she started to scroll through some files. "Everyone has a little bit of psychic abilities. Just not everyone is able to use them." 

"My mother saved my life?" 

"Looks that way," the woman said. "Oh darn, I can't find it." 

"Excuse me, Mitsuishi-san, but what are you looking for?" Mimi asked. 

"The article about his parents' deaths. I can't seem to find it, but I am sure the library has it. It happened sometime in April back in 1990." 

The lady put the computer on stand by and turned back to Koushirou, who had been quiet for a while. 

"Your case was at the Odaiba Adoption Center since your mother and father were residing in Odaiba. Since there were so many cases already, they transferred it here. At first, we thought that we would never find a family for you, until I remembered this couple who came in almost every week in search of a child to foster or adopt." 

"My adoptive parents?" 

"Yes." 

"I thought that with adoptions, you place orphan children with blood relatives," Mimi said. 

"Yes, that is normally the case, but we were having a tough time trying to find some for young Koushirou. His mother had no family since she was put up for adoption herself." 

"How come she was put up for adoption?" Koushirou asked. 

"I am afraid that I can not answer this. I really do not know. You could try the Odaiba Adoption Agency and ask if they know." 

"There was nobody on my father's side that could take me in?" 

"Well, both of his parents were deceased, he had no brothers nor sisters nor any other close family. Not even an aunt or an uncle, but we _did_ find one relative, by mistake though. It was a coincidence actually. The person we found was your adoptive father." 

"Wait, you mean, he is related to me, by _blood_?!?" 

"Yes, I suppose so. He was a cousin of your father's, _distant_ cousins. When we told him and his wife about your father, he said he knew _of _Fukami-san, but not personally. He didn't even know that he had died _or_ that he had child. They were probably cousins by marriage by some other relative in the family. We were all very surprised when we found out that Izumi was a relative and was willing to take you in. They had been looking for a child for such a long while too, at least a year. See, before getting you, they fostered a lot of children regardless of religion, gender, age, or nationality. After they got you, they stopped. You should've seen the looks on their faces when they found out that you were going home with them. They looked as if a blessing had been bestowed upon them." 

"Wow, I never realized I was that important to them," Koushirou said in amazement. "But I still wish they would have told me about this. Why did they keep it a secret from me?" he asked himself. "Mitsuishi-san, do you have any photos of my mother or father?" 

"Sorry, I do not have anything like that. We have nothing left back by them and that includes photos. If it helps any, you could always try to find some information or class photos of them from the University they attended. They were both top students in their class." 

"Okay, I will!" Koushirou said in determination, standing up along with Mimi. "Wait, what year did they graduate in?" 

"Class of '85..." 

"Mitsuishi-san, I would like to thank you for all of the help you have given me. Because of you, I now know about my real parents and what they were like." 

"Well, I was at liberty to give you this information and was pretty much obligated to. Your files weren't closed off or anything." 

"Meaning?" Mimi asked. 

"He had the right to come and get this information and didn't have to wait until adulthood for it." 

"Oh." 

"It would be nice to know what my real parents looked like," he frowned. 

"I know this is not going to help much, but all you have to do is look in the mirror. Like I said earlier, you look exactly like your mother, especially with that red hair of yours. Those plain, black eyes of yours definitely belongs to your father. The only difference is that your mother wore glasses and you don't." 

Koushirou forced a smile onto his face. He didn't find that response all that flattering. He still would rather see it for himself. 

"Arigatou gozaimasu," he thanked her while bowing. 

"Sayonara," Mimi bowed. 

With that, the both of them left. The two walked away from the building in silence. Koushirou still had one question that remained unanswered. 

"Why were they so eager to adopt a child and what made them foster them so much? I think I remember Mitsuishi-san saying something about an incident that occured with them." 

"Koushirou..." 

"Oh, huh?" 

"I-I'm sorry about your parents," Mimi spoke up, not knowing exactly what to say. She just felt obligated to. 

"That's okay, Mimi-san. I am just glad that I found out the truth about them. I can now rest a little better knowing." 

"Why do I have this feeling that there is more to this situation than you are letting on? Was your being adopted the reason you are so jealous over your future brother or sister?" 

The question caught the young computer whiz offguard. He wasn't expecting such a question. 

"I can tell that you are jealous. The fact that you are willing to move out showed me that." 

"Move out? I'm not planning on moving out...yet." 

"What about that 'the old place is going to be a bit crowded in about a year and I would like to contact my real parents,' statement you made!" 

"I just feel as if I am going to be in the way," he sighed. "I mean, I'm not even their son. When they have a child of their own, a true Izumi, why would they bother with me?" 

"Izumi Koushirou! You stop that right now! They love you very much and having a baby is not going to change that! I would expect this attitude from a child, but not from someone _your_ age!" 

"You don't know what it feels like! You don't know what it's like, knowing that you're in a family that you don't even belong to! All of a sudden, they're going to have a child of their own--a _real_ child for them! One who knows where his or her place is along with his or her _real_ mother and father." 

"I'm sorry. You're right, maybe I don't understand. Even after you said that, I still don't entirely. But I do know one thing..." 

"What's that?" 

"I know that you should just give it a try and stop jumping to conclusions as to what your life will be like with this addition. It would make Mrs. Izumi very happy. Having a child is one of the most important and meaningful times in a woman's life. Try to be happy for her and quit being so selfish!" 

The boy nodded. He knew that Mimi was right. He really shouldn't get mad about his mother having a child, but he still couldn't help but feel a bit insecure over the situation. There was still that detail of his not being their _real_ son. 

The two continued to walk until they reached the subway station to go back to Odaiba. It was now after 1:00. The two hopped on and got themselves a seat. When they finally got back to Odaiba, it was nearly 2:00. Mimi hadn't even noticed. 

"Here we are back in Odaiba!" she said, stretching her arms. "What do we do next?" 

"I'm going to Tokyu U and Odaiba University to find out more about my parents." 

"But aren't all of the schools closed on Sundays?" 

"Not this month. It's open for those trying to get into the school. Students are still taking entrance exams." 

"Oh," Mimi said, finally noticing the time. "But, um, I..." 

"You don't have to help. I know you're anxious to get away from me." 

"That is _not_ true!" 

"You keep acting as if you have something else to do." 

"Well, I _was_ planning on going over to that club over near the docks for a small get together, no big deal." 

"Then go on to the party that Sora-san is throwing." 

"You know about her party?" 

"I've known about it for a while. I was invited as well by Taichi-san, but I just wasn't planning on going. You should really go. All of your friends will probably be there and you really shouldn't waste your time on me..." 

"Waste my time? I _chose_ to hang out with you! Just for that, I am going to that party later! Let's get over to Odaiba University and Tokyo U and while we are at it, we can go to Odaiba Elementary to find out more about your mother! They are bound to have some photos of past instructors." 

"That's a great idea, Mimi-san! Odaiba Elementary probably _would_ have some information about her!" 

"Let's go and see what we can find out!" 

For the first time all day, Koushirou smiled and it wasn't a forced one. 

"Right!" 

The two started to walk away from the station, until Koushirou spoke up. 

"Mimi-san, are you _sure_ you wouldn't want to attend the party? I am sure that it would be much more fun to hang out there than with me." 

"I'm sure," she smiled. "I can go later, now let's head on over to Odaiba University! It is probably the closest!" 

Koushirou nodded, and the two took off...   
************************************************************************************************************************************* 

**Notes**

Note 1: That's an inside, Love Hina joke. In that anime, the main character, Keitaro, is trying to get into Tokyu U, but he keeps flunking his entrance exam. I wonder if Tokyo U is the same as the University of Tokyo or based on that and if so, I wonder if getting into that school is as difficult as they make it seem on Love Hina. ^^ (Click here to go back to where you were) 


	12. The Other Chosens

Okay everyone, I decided to write in something dealing with the other kids. I just can't resist doing that. I have to mention the others at _some_ point. lol Sorry that this part is a bit long. We also find out who Hikari has the crush on in this part so enjoy. ^_^ Oh, another warning...this part is "PG-13ish" because of the language. :-p Okay, maybe not _that_ bad. Okay, not bad at all, actually. I just felt the need to include that info. lol 

Anyway, as always, I do not own any of these characters and/or places associated with the game, show, manga, etc.*   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 12: The Other Chosens...

Since Sora was planning on throwing a big party, she knew she couldn't use her home for it. It was way too small, so she was holding it over at one of Odaiba's best clubs. It was used more so at night, though, and Koushirou probably knew this area fairly well. For that was where, Raremon attacked when his Digivice got a signal of the Eighth Child and went after it almost five years earlier; it would be that upcoming August anyway. Sora's father was responsible for her being able to use this club, and since her father was friends with the owner, Sora got the entire place for the entire day for free. 

"I guess Mimi-chan couldn't make it," Yuko said while looking around. 

"I guess not, but it _is_ still pretty early," Chinatsu pointed out. 

"It's _just_ not fair!" Yuko complained. "I wanted her to see her admirers make fools of themselves!" 

"You mean more than usual," Chinatsu laughed. 

"Not to worry, I have a camera," Ayame smiled. 

Both Chinatsu and Yuko laughed. Right at that moment, a loud boy burst through the door. 

"The party can really start now that the handsome Motomiya Daisuke is here!" 

With him was a quiet looking girl wearing a pink blouse and a pair of yellow shorts along with a pair of sandals. 

"Daisuke-kun, calm down.," Hikari said calmly. 

"Ahh, gomen," he sweat dropped. 

Right beside her was a tall, blonde-haired boy wearing a white cap. 

"Yeah, calm down, stop making a scene! There are High Schoolers here!" Takeru reminded him. "We don't want them to think that we are nerds!" 

"Okay, okay, I'll calm down," the boy said, anxious to have some fun. He started to dance to the upbeat music in the spot he was standing in. "But I want to party!" 

The hyper boy saw some friends of his and went over to them. They were all friends of his from Odaiba Elementary's Soccer Club. 

"He sure can be hyper at times," Takeru laughed lightly. 

"Yeah, but you must admire him for that. He always seems to make people happy." 

"Yeah, I guess," he muttered. "So, would you like for me to get you something to drink?" he asked nervously. 

"Oh, Takeru-kun," she smiled, "I can get my own drink but you can come along with me of course." 

With that, she walked off towards where the refreshments were. Takeru sighed and went along with her. 

It was still early and guests were still arriving. There were people from all grade levels: Elementary, Junior High, and High School. Yamato and his group had gotten there early. Sora asked if they could play for her party. They gladly accepted the offer. While playing, Yamato had his eye out for Mimi. When he got the chance, he was planning on asking her to dance with him. 

"Ichijouji-kun, Miyako-chan, Iori-kun, hi!" Sora greeted, seeing them enter. 

She ran over to them. 

"Hi, Sora-san," both Miyako and Iori greeted. 

"Hey, Takenouchi," Ken greeted. 

"I am _so_ glad that you all could make it!" 

"So am I," Ken said. "I love get togethers and parties. They are so relaxing." 

"Yeah, and Sora-san is the only person I know that would have a party for all grade levels!" Miyako laughed. 

"Well, this party is for everyone to relax, especially with everyone having to take High School Entrance exams. It is very stressful at this time of year." 

"I am glad that we do not have to take entrance exams to get into Junior High." 

"Unless you do what senpai did," Miyako told Iori. 

"I really idolize and look up to Jou-san, but I do not think that I am going to go to a private Junior High School where taking entrance exams are required when the time comes for me to attend Junior High School." 

"He is really into his education, but I guess that is a good thing," Sora said. "Well, enough talk about school, this is a party!" 

The three nodded and went off to find something "party" like to do. Iori just went and joined some friends of his from his class.   
****   
"I wish some nice, handsome guy would come ask me to dance," Yuko sighed while sipping on some punch. 

"You aren't the _only_ one," Ayame sighed. "A nice, handsome sophisticated guy." 

"Like a High School boy!" Yuko smiled dreamily. 

"We should not get our hopes up too high," Ayame said. "What are the chances of a High School boy coming over here and asking _us_ to dance with them?" 

"A _zillion_ to one!" Yuko sighed. 

"There they go! There they go!" Chinatsu said while pulling on Yuko's sleeve. 

"What, you saw some cute boys?!?" Yuko asked while looking all over the place to see what Chinatsu was talking about. 

"Where?" Ayame asked, looking around as well. 

"No, something better and amusing!" 

The other two girls laughed when they saw what Chinatsu was pointing to. 

"Oh my gosh!" Yuko said while staring. "Look at Yuuji-kun! He is actually carrying around an autoharp!" 

"Oh man, and his hair is a total mess!" Ayame said while taking shots with her Digital Camera. 

"Not as messed up looking as Tomokazu!" Chinatsu said. "He is here too!" 

Seki's hair was all over his head and he was wearing a pair of glasses, which looked a bit broken, along with a pair of _square_ goggles. 

"We specifically said round," Yuko snickered. 

"I see Takamatsu and Hashimoto now," Ayame said while snapping photos with her digital camera. 

Misao had a briefcase, wild hair, glasses, and wore a pair of round goggles, but they weren't blue. They were those small black ones that everyone could possibly get. Ukyo had a toy computer laptop, blue glasses, wild hair, no goggles or autoharp. Ayame got as many photos of them as possible. The four then ended up walking towards the three snickering girls. Seeing them walking over, Ayame slipped her camera back into her purse. 

"Where is Mimi?" Seki asked. 

"Mimi," Ukyo called, "I dressed up for you!" 

"Why don't you guys just back off!" Misao told his three friends. "We all know Mimi-chan likes me best and she will like me even more once she gets a look at me." 

"Get real!" Ukyo argued. "_I'm_ the one with the laptop and the glasses!" 

"But _I_ have the autoharp!" 

"It is _so_ obvious that my dear Mimi-chan likes sophisticated looking men," Misao said. 

"No way, _I'm_ the real man around here!" Yuuji retorted. 

"I'm the one with the briefcase!" Misao pointed out. 

"So!" Seki shouted at the two. 

"Calm down, boys," Ayame sweat dropped. 

The four stopped arguing with one another and turned towards them, shouting, "Where is Mimi-chan!" 

"We haven't seen her," Yuko told them. 

"What!?" the four asked in unison. 

"There is a chance that she might not even show up," Chinatsu told them. 

"Yeah, she had to go out of town with Izu---ooph," Yuko started, getting elbowed in the side by Ayame in the process. 

"Um, like Chinatsu-chan said, there is a chance that Mimi-chan might not even show," Ayame said, finishing up what Yuko had started. 

All four boys face faulted. 

"Stop worrying," Yuko smiled at the four. "There _is_ a chance that she may show up later. That _is_ what she told us." 

"For the sake of Mimi-chan, I hope she doesn't show!" Ayame whisperred to her two friends. 

"I know what you mean," Yuko agreed. "I wouldn't want her to see how pathetic these four are being!" 

"I didn't even think that they would actually go through with dressing up!" Ayame said. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Yuko agreed. 

"How do you think Mimi-chan would react, though?" Chinatsu asked. 

"She would probably giggle all cute and sweet like, like she always does, which makes the boys melt. I wish I had that power" 

Chinatsu and Ayame laughed. After the four boys left them alone--actually, stopped harassing them for information on the where-a-bouts of Mimi--Yuko saw someone walk in with a couple of friends. 

"Oh my gosh!" Yuko said, hearts in her eyes. "Who is that handsome boy that just walked in with the friend of Mimi-chan...that Kido guy!" 

Her other two companions looked and saw who she was referring to. 

"He's cute!" the two said. 

The person to show up with Jou and his friend, Malissa, was Eijiro. 

"Do you think you can go one party without hitting on a girl?" Jou asked his friend. 

"Let me think about that for a moment," Eijiro said while acting as if he were in deep thought. "No!" 

"Why am I not surprised," Jou muttered. 

"You actually expect me to?" Eijiro asked Jou in surprise. "How can I, especially when there are a lot of cute girls around here, like that friend of yours I met the other night!" 

"C'mon, Malissa," Jou said while shaking his head. "Who knows what is going to happen with him with all of these girls around." 

Malissa laughed and nodded, walking off with Jou to get some refreshments. 

The party went on all day, Mimi not showing up at all. Mimi's admirers stuck around for the entire party, of course, still dressed the way Ayame, Chinatsu, and Yuko had tricked them into dressing as. Ayame got plenty of photos of them to show Mimi later on. When not taking photos, the girls were having a blast just hanging out with their other friends and they were approached by some first year boys from Odaiba High. 

Eijiro, of course, was approached by almost all of the girls at the party, all of which were drooling over him. Malissa spent all of her time with Jou, mainly because she didn't really no anyone other than Jou and the ones she had been introduced to at the karaoke bar. Sora and Taichi may have invited a lot of people, but they were all from public schools. Jou, Malissa, and Eijiro all went to a private school. 

After the party was over, Miyako was talking with both Sora and Taichi. 

"This sure was a great party!" Miyako complimented. "The band was great, the food was good, and this club was _per_fect for it!" 

"Was there any doubt with me being the second planner of it?" Taichi asked while blowing his nails. 

"Thank you _so_ much. I don't know _what_ I would've done without you," Sora responded sarcastically, yet playfully. 

"Too bad you couldn't throw it at night," Taichi said. 

"You know I would have if I had only invited Junior High and High school kids, but we had some Elementary ones here too." 

"Those are just minor details," Taichi smirked. "Speaking of kids, where is Hikari?" 

"I saw her talking with some guys, but she left them and went along with Daisuke," Miyako told him. 

"I don't like all of these guys hanging around my sister!" 

"You have to face facts, Taichi," Sora smiled at him gently. "Your baby sister is growing up. She is going to be in Junior High after this term is up." 

"I still don't like it," he muttered with his arms crossed. He decided to calm down a bit and to worry about Hikari later. "So, um, Sora, want me to walk you home or something?" 

"No thanks," the girl said while picking up some papers. "I'm going to hang around here a little while longer." 

"Okay," Taichi said, quite dissapointed. "Well, I better get going and just to let you know, I _am_ planning on throwing a big graduation party next weekend. At night!" 

"If you are worried about Hikari-chan with boys hanging around her at a day party, what makes you think that it would be any better at night?" Sora laughed. 

"You make a very good point." He thinks for a moment. "I know, no children allowed!" 

"Like that's going to work!" Sora said while sitting her hand on her hip. "They would still find a way to come to the party, unless your mother says Hikari-chan can't." 

"You like to ruin my fun, don't you?" Taichi asked with a lopsided grin. 

"Yeah, I find it quite fun," Sora playfully smiled. 

Taichi stuck his tongue out at Sora, who laughed at how playful he was acting. 

"Well, I'm out of here. I might as well get home and find something to do with my evening since this party was thrown so early in the day," he said while heading towardst he door. "Hey, I know! Since Mimi never showed up, why don't we get her and go out to a nice teen hangout." 

"I don't know..." Miyako started. 

"Aww, c'mon! It'll give us something to do. I have _hours_ left until my curfew." 

"It doesn't sound like such a bad idea," Sora said. 

"And if Miyako and the others can't make it, we can go, Sora," he said a bit nervously. 

"I guess so," Sora shrugged. "I'll give you a call later and let you know what's up." 

"Okay. See you all later." 

"Strange about Mimi-oneesama," Miyako said after Taichi left. "Do you think their trip to Hikarigaoka took them longer than they anticipated?" 

"It must have. Mimi-chan _never_ misses a party." 

"Yeah, I know and this was one of the best ones. There was a really good turnout." 

"Yeah, but I still wish she would have come." 

"Yeah, I know. Yamato-san was asking about her a lot I noticed. He kept asking if anyone had seen her every chance he got." 

"Hey, why don't we go over to her place and see how she's doing?" 

"Good idea and while we are there, we can tell her about the invite of Taichi-san," Miyako added. "We can also tell her all about the party and I can _finally_ find out what's wrong with Izumi-senpai!" 

Sora laughed at Miyako's nosiness. 

"Hey, I want to know!" Miyako said. 

"No kidding!" 

With that, the two girls walked off, about to catch a ride to Mimi's place, but was distracted. When they walked outside, they found Taichi standing with Yamato, Ken, and an exasperated Takeru. The four had been talking. 

"Hey guys, what's up?" Miyako asked. "I thought Sora-san and me were the only ones still around." 

"Takaishi was looking for Hikari-san and we were trying to figure out where she could have gone," Ken explained. 

"Why?" Sora asked. 

"She left with Daisuke-kun and she didn't even _tell_ me!" 

"Aren't you guys over reacting?" Miyako asked. "What is wrong with her leaving with Daisuke?" 

"I don't know!" Takeru replied in an exasperated manner. "I mean, we all came together, we should all _leave_ together!" 

"I guess he is upset because she didn't let him know that she was leaving with Motomiya," Ken said. 

"Maybe they wanted to be _alone_," Miyako joked. 

"C'mon, Miyako-san! This is _not_ funny!" Takeru said. 

"_Sorry_...sheesh!" the girl apologized. 

"Did you four _ge_niuses try looking at home for them?" Sora asked. 

"Yeah, they left hours ago," Miyako recalled. "They left round about the same time Ken-kun and I saw Iori leave." 

"That's what I told him," Ken said. 

"They probably got bored and left, like Iori-kun and his friends did," Sora said. 

"Oh yeah, didn't think of that," Takeru said with a nervous laugh. 

"I'm surprised at you for not thinking of that first!" Sora scolded. 

"C'mon," Miyako urged. "We better hurry up if we want to get over to the Nishimura's." 

"Any idea why she didn't show up?" Yamato asked. 

"Yeah, a little," Miyako said. "She had to go out of town today." 

"I guess she didn't make it back in time," Sora said. 

"Yeah, if Mimi-oneesama misses a party, she _has_ to have a good reason!" 

With that, Sora and Miyako left the four boys to go over to Mimi's house...   
****   
Earlier that day at the party... 

"Takeru-kun, where are you running off to?" Hikari asked. 

"I was just going to go over some plays with a couple of the guys," Takeru explained. "I promised them that I would. You do not mind, do you?" 

"I was hoping that you could hang around here with me for a while." 

"We have been here together since we walked in the door," Takeru smiled. 

"That _is_ true. Go on ahead." 

With that, Takeru left to go meet up with the basketball buddies that he had promised to meet at the party. 

"I shouldn't be upset," Hikari said to herself. "They _are_ his friends, afterall, but he promised to hang out with me too. He is always so concerned about the team just because he is the star player and team captain." She smiled a bit, but sighed. "Well, he _is_ kindhearted and a promise _is_ a promise." 

A bunch of boys approached Hikari since Takeru had left. People had always just assumed that he and Hikari were an item since they were such good friends. The boys were hitting on her pretty much. Hikari didn't like all of the attention and she was starting to get a terrible headache since she was so annoyed with the boys as of the moment. 

She went and found herself a place to sit. She found Iori there as well with a friend of his. A girl about his age with messy, yet pretty hair and a few other kids his age talking. 

"Hikari-san..." 

"Hi, Iori-kun," Hikari greeted. 

"Who is that?" the girl with the messy, pretty hair asked. 

"Eiji-san, Ikue-san, Shiko-san, Murai-san, Narumi-san, this is Yagami Hikari. She is an upperclassman and she is about to graduate to Odaiba Junior High." 

"Cool!" the five said. 

"Is something wrong, Hikari-san?" Iori asked. 

"No, not really. I'm just a bit tired." 

"There really isn't much to do," Iori complained. "I probably won't be here much longer myself." 

"Yeah," Iori's friend Narumi said. "We're going to be leaving pretty soon and I don't mind leaving. We can head on back to my place! We can watch movies and stuff." 

"Cool!" the others said, minus the girl with the messy, pretty hair. 

The skinny, energetic girl beside Iori stood up. 

"No way!" the girl named Eiji protested. "We can go out in the woods to our secret clubhouse! I am in the mood for climbing anyway." 

A dark haired, chubby boy spoke up next agreeing with Eiji. 

"Yeah and then we can go hiking!" Shiko added. 

Another boy spoke up also agreeing with the two. He was a slim, black haired boy and a bit tall. His name was Murai. 

"And we can go fishing in the creek nearby!" Murai added. 

"And go swimming!" Eiji said. 

A petite-sized girl with long, wavy red hair spoke up next. She was very plain and ordinary looking just like Eiji, the only difference being the hair colors. Eiji looked plain in every way, her messy, yet pretty aqua-colored hair included. Instead of wearing it straight down like most of the girls in her class, she had her hair tied back into a single, semi messy ponytail. 

"Yeah, that _does_ sound like fun!" Ikue agreed. "This is the perfect day to go hiking and swimming." 

The other girl that had suggested they go to her home shook her head with her long, beautiful brown hair flowing down her back which matched her clear, brown eyes. 

"No way!" Narumi objected. "Eiji, you are _such_ a tomboy! I do _not_ want to mess up my beautiful dress and what about my hair? If I go swimming, it will become a total mess! Doing those things are _so_ unlady like." 

"Aww, Narumi, lighten up!" Murai said. "We want to go to our clubhouse and have _fun_!" 

"Yeah, this party is cool and all, but I'm getting bored hanging around with all these older kids," Shiko said. 

"Ever since you spent the summer with your older sister you've been acting all prissy like," Ikue complained. 

"And boring!" Murai added on. 

"What have they done to you!" Eiji asked in alarm. "You are turning into a model like her!" 

"Hey, I just feel that it is time for us to grow up and start acting like young men and young women!" 

"But we are children!" Eiji argued. "We are _supposed_ to have fun and play!" 

"Yeah, we are still ten years old," Shiko pointed out. 

"Hey, Iori hasn't said anything," Murai said. "What do _you_ think we should do?" 

"Well, um, I'm not so sure," Iori said bashfully. 

"C'mon, Iori-kun!" Eiji urged. "We know you like to swim and hike!" 

"It _does_ sound like a lot of fun and we haven't used our old clubhouse since our last holiday, but it was still too cold to swim then." 

"All in favor of going swimming and hiking, raise your hands!" Eiji said. 

Everyone, minus Narumi, raised their hands. 

"All opposed of going and would rather sit around the house and watch television and boring movies, raise your hand." 

Narumi raised her hand stubbornly. 

"Okay Narumi, it's five to one!" Eiji said. "We win! So, are you coming with us, or are you going to go home and watch movies on such a beautiful day?" 

"Okay, okay, I'll go, but I'm not going to promise you that I will have any fun!" 

"Okay everyone, go and get all of your things, fishing poles, swimsuits, whatever and bring them to our secret spot!" Eiji instructed. 

"Hey, why don't we just camp out!" Ikue suggested. 

"You know we can't because it is a school night," Iori reminded her. 

"How about next weekend we camp out?" Shiko asked. 

"Yeah!" Eiji cheered. "I _love_ camping!" 

Narumi frowned. She hated doing "boyish" type things, well ever since last summer anyway. 

"I bet Narumi wouldn't _want_ to come, her being an '_adult_,_'_" Eiji said while giving Narumi a look. 

"I, of course, _will_ come! I may be a sophisticated young lady, but I can handle one camping trip." 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Eiji said, ignoring her. "Let's go guys! We still have the rest of the day!" 

Hikari got up from the table and left them in discussion. The same boys followed her that always found her cute. She was tempted to go and tell her brother about these boys, but she saw that he was busy having his own fun and decided against it. She really wished that Takeru was still with her, but he was still busy with his own friends. 

She decided to do the one thing she _could_ do...be rude and tell them that she wasn't interested. She knew that the normality was to just ignore those that bothered you in some way to show that you aren't interested, but she couldn't take it. 

"Please, leave me alone," the girl said as nice as can be. "I am really not in the mood to dance or anything." 

"Aww, c'mon Hikari, just one dance!" one of the boys said. "You are way too beautiful to hang around and _not_ dance." 

"Please, I really do _not_ want to!" 

Before either of the boys could respond, they heard someone say, "Didn't you hear her, she doesn't want to be bothered." 

"Motomiya," one of the boys said. 

"The one and only!" he smiled. "Now why don't you all just leave her alone..." 

"Sorry," the second boy said. "We just hate to see you hanging around doing nothing." 

"Believe me, I do _not_ mind," Hikari said. 

The boys walked off. 

"_Thank_ you! I thought they would never leave me alone. I know they mean well, but I am just not in the mood to party right now." 

"Yeah, some people just don't get it." 

"Like you," Hikari joked with a giggle. 

"Hey, I was just a kid back then," he said with a nervous smile, turning a bit red. 

Hikari left Daisuke and went back to sit down. She felt annoyed and a bit stressed. She saw Daisuke walk off with some other girls and boys from their class, talking with them, laughing, and having fun. One thing she noticed about Daisuke was that he could always find a way to have fun and make people around him happy. 

Hikari then saw Takeru laughing and having a good time with his basketball buddies. For some odd reason, it made her upset. It had been a long time since Takeru had carried on like that with her. Their conversations were always quite serious, not at all playful. Takeru was a nice boy and a great friend, but he wasn't as playful around her like he was with other people. It was nice that Takeru was so serious and mature, but it isn't good to be that way _all_ of the time. She couldn't even recall a time where Takeru had even made her laugh, not recently anyway. 

The two were a lot alike and at times she found herself getting a bit bored with Takeru _because_ of their many similarities, but she was still a bit drawn to him. She _did_ have a slight crush on him afterall. Unlike Daisuke, Takeru wasn't so persistent with trying to get with her, but like Daisuke had said earlier, he _was_ just a kid back then. Daisuke didn't really act like that anymore, but he was still his same playful, hyper self and his crush on Hikari was still pretty much an obvious thing noticed by others. 

The girl then got up. She was fed up with this party. She was starting to grow bored with it, especially since most of her female friends were off with other guys and her guy friends were busy talking with other people and her DD friends were off doing their thing. 

"I don't feel so well," the girl said to herself while holding her head. 

The girl was going to go and get Takeru, but someone else caught her eye. 

"Daisuke-kun..." she uttered weakly. 

He was dancing with a girl from their class that was a pretty good friend of his. The song Yamato's band was playing was a fast one, so of course Daisuke would be on the floor dancing. You would never catch him dancing to a slow song. "Too boring" he would say. 

A couple of other guys showed up and started talking with him and the girl. They were all good buddies of his and Hikari recognized all of them. They were all in the same class as them. Hikari walked up to the group and smiled weakly to them. 

"Hi," everyone greeted her. 

She said "hi" plainly back. 

The short dark-haired girl Daisuke had been dancing with noticed Hikari's somber look. Her name was Romi. 

"Is something wrong?" 

"No, I am fine." 

Another girl that they all knew quite well spoke up, looking around. She had her hair all fancy like, mainly because she knew High Schoolers were going to be at the party and she wanted to show off for them of course, which was no surprise to Hikari since this girl was always like that. Her name was Tara. 

"Hey, where is Takeru-kun?!?" she asked. 

Another girl walked up to the group after hearing Takeru's name. This girl was well known in their class and it was _very_ obvious that this girl had a thing for Takeru, just like the majority of the girls of their class. Her name was Shige. 

"Ooh! I am going to see if he can dance with me!" 

That girl ran off in search of Takeru. Hikari just rolled her eyes a bit and held her head. 

"Hikari-chan?" Daisuke asked while looking over at her. 

"I have a bit of headache," she told him. "I think I should go home." 

"I could walk you home if you would like." 

"That's okay..." 

"Nah, I don't mind," Daisuke said, getting a determined look on his face. "Let's go." 

Hikari didn't argue and accepted the young soccer player's offer. 

"Hey, do you want to go get Takeru?" 

"No, that's okay. He's busy right now..." 

"Hey, Motomiya, are you still on for that game this evening?" a boy called to him. 

"I'll let you know later, okay?" 

"Okay, cya." 

The two walked out, a little while after Iori and his group left. 

"Thank you for walking me home, Daisuke-kun." 

"No problem." 

"But what about your friends?" 

"Don't worry about them. You said you weren't feeling well, so I decided to walk you home." 

"Arigatou," the girl smiled weakly. 

During the walk, Daisuke kept cracking and making jokes, which made Hikari smile and laugh, forgetting all about her headache. 

"Thank you for cheering me up." 

"No problemo!" he winked. 

"I feel much better now." 

"Glad to hear it," Daisuke said while stuffing his hands into his pocket during their walk. 

It was a really nice day and the slow walk seemed to bore Daisuke, to Hikari anyway. She knew that he would rather be at the party than walking her home. 

"I'm sorry," the girl apologized. 

"What for?" he asked in surprise. 

"For ruining your fun at the party. I hate to be a burden on anyone" 

"You didn't ruin it and you aren't a burden. I don't mind the walk." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Positive!" he smiled. 

"He sure has matured since we were younger. I can't put my finger on why I think so, but he has. It's like he's matured, yet he's still playful and outgoing and optimistic," Hikari said to herself. "Instead of going straight home, why don't we go out someplace instead?" 

"Like where?" 

"I dunno, a movie, or the arcade, or something like that." 

"Sure! I don't mind! Glad I have some extra cash on me," he said with a big smile. "There is this new arcade game that just came out that I am just _dying_ to try out!!" 

Hikari wasn't the type to play video games, but she knew that Daisuke was, which is why she mentioned it. 

"Let's go!" 

The two walked towards the Odaiba Cinaplex to catch a movie and then go to the arcade later since it was nearby...   
****   
The Nishimura home... 

"I hope we didn't waste our time coming over here," Sora said. 

"Yeah, I hope she's back," Miyako said, ringing the doorbell. 

The two heard a young voice asking, "Who is it?" 

"It is Sora-san and I." 

The doorknob turned and there stood Isako. 

"Miya-chan, Sora-chan!" the girl exclaimed, hugging the both of them. 

"Hi there, Isako-chan," Sora greeted. "Is Mimi-chan home?" 

An older woman came to the door before Isako could respond. It was Isako's mother. 

"Konban wa, Nishimura-san," both girls greeted. 

"Hi girls, c'mon in," she told them. 

Sora shut the door behind her, asking, "Is Mimi-chan around?" 

"Yeah, but she has locked herself in her room," Sué said sadly. "She seems very depressed." 

"_Depressed_?!?" the two asked. 

"Neechan is sad about something." 

"Uh-oh, something must have happened with Izumi-senpai." 

The reddish, blonde-haired girl nodded in agreement. 

"I don't know what to do with her. We came home and found her that way," Sué said, still a bit upset over the situation. "When we _first_ got here, she was in the bath and seemed to stay there for a long time. I kept asking her what was wrong, but she insisted that it was nothing, but I know she is lying. I could tell by her voice that she was trying not to cry." 

"This is serious," Sora said, a bit worried. "Mimi-chan isn't the type to get really upset over something unless death is involved." 

"I'm going to give her mother a call to see if she have any suggestions. She _is_ her mother afterall and she would know how to handle Mimi better than me or Kichibei would." Sué turned towards her daughter, who was pretty quiet as of the moment since she couldn't really contribute to their conversation. "Isako, go tell Mimi that her friends are here." 

"Okay." 

"Maybe you two can cheer her up since you seem to be close friends of hers." 

"I hope she's okay." 

"I just hope we can cheer her up from whatever it is that's making her sad," Sora said. 

"I sure hope so," Sué said. "A few of her other friends called here earlier looking for her, but Mimi refused to talk to them." 

"Probably because she missed my party today. It isn't like her to miss a party." 

"Yeah, she's always the life of it!"   
****   
The girl ran off to Mimi's room and knocked on the door. 

"Neechan, Sora-chan and Miya-chan are here!" 

The tanned haired girl sat up and rubbed her eyes which were obviously filled with tears. She didn't feel like talking to anyone as of the moment. 

"Um, Isako-chan, I am not feeling too well." 

The girl kept begging Mimi to come out, but the response was the same. She didn't feel like being bothered. The girl frowned and left to go and tell the others her news...   
****   
"Is she going to come down?" her mother asked. 

Isako shook her head. 

"First Kou-chan is sad, now Mimi-chan is sad." 

"Isako, go on with your father and have him fix you something to eat. I'm going to call my brother and see if Satoe is around to give me some advice on her daughter." 

"We better get going ourselves," Sora said. 

"Yeah, we'll catch you later." 

With that, the two girls left the big house. 

"How can one trip mess her up like that?" Miyako asked. 

"I don't know, but I say we go pay Koushirou-kun a visit. He should know what's going on." 

"_Def_initely!" 

When the two got to the Izumi home, they saw a Police motorcycle parked in front of the apartment complex. The two didn't think anything of it and figured that someone had called a cop for something trivial, like a lost puppy. 

They were surprised to find a young female cop on her way out of the Izumi's apartment when they were just about to knock on the door. The woman smiled at them and left. 

"Remember, anonymous!" Koushirou shouted to the cop. "Keep us _anonymous_! Make sure they remember that!" 

The lady nodded and left. Both Sora and Miyako gave Koushirou a questioning look. 

"_Yes_, that was a cop," Koushirou told the two irritably. 

"No kidding," Sora muttered sarcastically. 

"They finally caught you!" Miyako joked. "They finally caught you hacking into secret government files!" 

Both girls laughed, but Koushirou didn't find anything they said funny at all. Miyako knew that whenever she joked about that, Koushirou would just laugh along. He never denied it, which always made her a tad bit suspicious of him, but she always dismissed it. She was expecting him to say something like, "Not so loud, they may hear you!" 

"Oh-kay," Miyako said slowly, stopping her laughing abruptly and feeling a bit uneasy. 

"Hey, where are your parents?" Sora asked as she entered the Izumi apartment. 

"Out," Koushirou said, growing slightly annoyed. "Is there something you need?" 

"Hey, don't get all cranky," Miyako said, walking in behind Sora. "We are here because of Mimi-oneesama, and while we're at it, we want to know what the deal with the cop was!" 

"What is going on with the cop is none of your business, and if you want to know what is wrong with Mimi-san, ask her." 

"We just came from over there and she is a wreck!" Sora explained. "What did you do to her!" 

"Nothing!" the boy nearly shouted at them from the accusation. "I didn't do a _damn_ thing to her!" 

"Why are you acting so mean to us?" Miyako asked, surprised with the way Koushirou was acting. "We're just concerned about her and she won't even _talk_ to us!" 

"Then don't expect anything more from me!" he snapped at her. 

The boy sat down and frowned. 

"I'm sorry, you two. I'm just a bit edgy right now." 

The two sat down across from Koushirou. 

"How come?" Sora asked. 

"I can't say, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "If Mimi-san does not wish to discuss it, then _I_ really shouldn't. It wouldn't be fair to her." 

"Did something happen in Hikarigaoka?" 

Koushirou gave Sora a look and asked her, "How did you know about Hikarigaoka?" 

"Mimi-oneesama told us that she was going with you today, but didn't really tell us much more other than that." 

"So, did something bad happen in Hikarigaoka?" Sora asked again. 

"No, something almost happened here in Odaiba when we got back," he told them. "What if I would not have made it in time?" he muttered to himself in worry. 

The two girls had looks of confusion on their faces. They didn't understand what he was talking about, which made the two girls even _more_ curious as to what had happened. Before they could ask anything else, Mr. & Mrs. Izumi walked in. 

"Hi, welcome back," Koushirou said as if nothing was wrong. 

"Hi there son," Mr. Izumi greeted. "Hi there Miyako, Sora." 

"Good evening Mr. & Mrs. Izumi," both girls greeted back. 

"How was your study date at Taichi's?" Mrs. Izumi asked while hanging her jacket up in the hall closet. 

"Study date at Taichi's?" Sora asked herelf. "What is she talking about?" 

Koushirou noticed the looks that both Sora and Miyako had and felt that it would've been wise to get them out before they got him into trouble. 

"Um, we studied a lot, yes we did!" Koushirou said nervously. "I'm sure that I will ace whatever exam that my instructors throw at me!" 

"I am sure all of that studying you all did worked up an appetite. Would you like some of the homemade cookies I baked last night?" Mrs. Izumi offered. 

Before the two girls could make a peep, Koushirou spoke up. 

"Aww, mom, we're all tired from studying and what we need is rest." He then turned to both Sora and Miyako. "Well, you two better get going. It's getting late and it _is_ a school night afterall." 

The two got the hint and left. Koushirou gave them an apologetic look and mouthed out "gomen nasai" before he shut the door. 

"He's hiding something," Sora said. 

"Why did he lie and say he was at the Yagami's all day if he was really in Hikarigaoka?" 

"Good question. My assumption is that maybe he didn't want his folks to know that he was going to spend the day in Hikarigaoka, but that doesn't make sense since the Nishimuras knew about Mimi-chan going to Hikarigaoka today." 

"Maybe the Izumis don't like their only son to go traveling to other cities all by his wittle self," Miyako joked. 

"Quit teasing," Sora laughed, finding the concept amusing. "Maybe we should just go home. Maybe one of us can get Mimi-chan to talk tomorrow in school." 

"Yeah, maybe you're right, but I still don't like what's going on." 

"I don't like it any better than you do, but there isn't much more we _can_ do. Something obviously happened with Mimi-chan and Koushirou-kun is covering for her since she didn't mention it herself." 

"I hate secrets!" Miyako complained. "I consider both Mimi-oneesama and Izumi-senpai to be my best friends; my mentors and here they are keeping a big secret away from me!" 

"We could try to figure this out on our own." 

"So far, all we know is that whatever happened, happened when they got back here to Odaiba." 

"That sure tells us a lot," Sora muttered sarcastically. 

"We are at a dead end already and we just started!" 

"It would help if we knew _why_ Koushirou-kun went to Hikarigaoaka in the first place. That could clue us in as to what all of this is about." 

"The only way to find that out is if we ask him and I have this feeling that he wouldn't tell us. Oneesama didn't even know why." 

"I guess it's back to our original plan." 

"Try to get it out of her tomorrow," Miyako sighed. 

The two girls took off for home seeing as how there wasn't much else they could do in reference to finding out what had happened with Mimi and Koushirou...   
****   
Back in the Izumi home... 

"You didn't have to rush them off so fast," Mr. Izumi said after Koushirou shut the front door. 

"It's okay," he said. "They were just leaving anyway." 

The two shrugged as they watched Koushirou go to his room and shut the door. He sat down on the bed, holding his head in his hands, sighing. 

"She is worse off than I thought! _God_, why do I feel this need to go over and help her? What good is that going to do, though? She obviously doesn't want any help. I really need to talk to Mimi-san about what happened today. It's really starting to bother me now, more than what it did earlier. Sure it bothered me, but it's like reality is starting to set in more now. For some reason, I am starting to feel _guilty_ over what happened." 

The boy lifted his head and punched the pillow on his bed in anger. 

"I should have never gone there to begin with!" he frowned as he punched the pillow harder to release his anger and sadness. "Why do people like that _exist_!?! Why do filthy, disgusting bastards like that creep exist in this world? Why..." 


	13. Mimi's Close Call!

I can honestly say this, everyone...I have _no _idea what I was thinking when I wrote this part. This part is _definitely_ PG-13 material, even though it isn't too graphic. I just started typing and this is what I came up with. Surprisingly, I wrote and finished this part before the last part. I guess my subconscious mind just wanted some more conflict, only this time instead of it dealing with Koushirou, it'll have something to do with Mimi. I guess you could say that this part is explaining what Koushirou was so uptight about in the last part. I hope that this part doesn't discourage you from reading any more of this fic. Never mind all of that though. Just read and I hope you enjoy it anyway and remember anything with an "*" means I wrote some kind of a note about it that can be found at the end of this part. It's your choice if you want to read it or not. As always, I do not own the characters or places associated with the game, manga, anime, etc   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 13: Mimi's Close Call!

Koushirou and Mimi were now deciding on how to get to Odaiba University. They both decided that they would go to Odaiba University first since Tokyo U was a bit far away from where they were. 

"We should probably take the bus." 

"But a cab would probably be faster," Mimi pointed out. 

"True, but a cap will be a bit more expensive..." 

"But it will be faster for us!" Mimi said, wanting to hurry and get the trip over with. "I'll chip in some money if _you_ promise to." 

"All right, all right. We'll take a taxi." 

"It'll be eaiser than hitching a ride," Mimi laughed. 

*Koushirou smiled and laughed, remembering how they, along with the others, were trying to hitch a ride back to Odaiba from Hikarigaoka years ago. Taichi couldn't catch a ride, when Yamato tried, a pretty young woman stopped for him but he was too shy to get in with her, Jou and Koushirou tried, but was almost hit in the process and when they did stop someone, it was a taxi driver and them with no money, caused the driver to continue on. When Sora and Mimi tried, by putting up signs, a young man stopped for them only because he thought the two of them were cute. 

Koushirou put out his arm, trying to wave down a taxi, but he was just ignored pretty much. 

"That's not the way you get a taxi to stop for you," Mimi giggled playfully. 

"Okay, what do _you_ suggest then?" 

"Just watch me," she said with a wink. 

The girl walked a little ways into the street and put up her arm with her other hand on her hip, making herself look as graceful and beautiful as possible. 

"Oh taxi, I need a ride," she said in a babyish tone. 

Koushirou rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he saw all of these taxi cabs trying to stop for Mimi. All of the men driving the taxis had lovestruck looks on their faces and spoke in a lovestruck manner. 

"I'll be happy to take you some place!" the first driver said. 

"You don't want to go off with that guy, come with me," the second driver said. 

"I'll drive you around for free and then we can go out sometime!" the fourth driver offered. 

"I'm the fastest driver around!" the third one said. "I'll drive all the way to China for you!" 

"I'll drive you all the way to England if you would like, and I don't think that's even _possible_!" the fifth driver said. "But I _would_ find a way!" 

Koushirou shook his head at how stupid the taxi drivers were acting. 

"These guys are pathetic! It's just Mimi-san, no big deal," he said to himself. "Mimi-san, choose one, they are starting to cause a traffic jam," Koushirou told her. 

Sure enough, there were cars piled behind them since they had taken up the street to stop for Mimi. Each taxi driver kept giving reasons as to why Mimi should choose them. She just chose a driver at random and ended up with Taxi #4, the one who had offered to drive them around for free. 

The other drivers just grumbled in annoyance and drove off. The taxi pulled closer to the curb so that Mimi could get in. He actually got out and opened the door for her and let her in, totally ignoring Koushirou. After he let Mimi in, he closed the door and ran back to the driver's seat. 

"Where to, gorgeous?" 

"Um, you shut the door on my friend." 

"Friend, what friend?" 

"_That_ friend," Mimi said, pointing to Koushirou. 

"Oh..." 

Mimi opened the door for Koushirou from the inside and he hopped in the back seat of the cab with her. He had a look of annoyance on his face since he was ignored. 

"Where to, gorgeous," the man asked, as if he had been struck by cupid's arrow. 

"Odaiba University," Mimi smiled. 

"Sure thing, beautiful!" 

"Uh, hehehe," Mimi laughed nervously. 

Koushirou just rolled his eyes at the way the man was acting. 

The driver pulled away from the curb and headed towards Odaiba University. He kept smiling and looking back at Mimi, who didn't even seem to notice. 

"I see you are a college student. I always found young girls quite arousing." 

"Now _this_ is getting weird," Koushirou said to himself. 

"Why not ditch your kid brother and go out to dinner with me?" 

"Um, no thank you and Koushirou is _not_ my younger brother," Mimi said, growing a bit nervous due to the way this man was acting. "He is the same age as me and we are _not_ college students--we are both in Junior High!" 

"How about a little music?" the man asked her, ignoring all that was said by her about Koushirou and her age. 

"No thank you." 

"Excuse me, sir, but it would be quicker if you were to make a right at the next light," Koushirou instructed, wanting to cut this ride as short as possible. He was growing terribly annoyed with this man and his attempts. "According to my calculations and the distance on this map, it will cut your time by almost ten minutes." 

"I know what I'm doing, kid!" the driver snapped at him. 

"Hey, if he says that you should turn at the next light, then you should _turn_ at the next light!" 

"Yes ma'am!" the driver said, making the turn like Koushirou had instructed. 

"I hope we get there soon. I never liked riding too much." 

"It shouldn't take us too much longer," Koushirou said while looking at the map of Odaiba. While looking at the map, he started to do some calculations. "According to the distance we have to go, we should only have about another ten minutes to sit here since he made that turn back there." 

"I hate that kind of math." 

Koushirou just shrugged. Solving distance problems was a breeze for him. He really did enjoy math since it was one of his best subjects. Another reason he had gotten into math was because of his computer. You have to know a bit of math to know the computer the way Koushirou does. 

"Hey, Koushirou, did you really mean what you said back at the orphanage?" 

"What did I say?" 

"About visiting every weekend acting as that little girl's brother." 

"You were around for that too!?!" 

"I was also there when you temporarily became a father." 

Koushirou turned red while Mimi laughed at his expression. 

"I'll quit teasing," she said, containing her laughter. "Now, did you really mean what you said to her?" 

"I suppose so," Koushirou said while calming down himself, getting rid of his blush. "That was the only thing I could think of to cheer the kid up so I guess I will go. A promise is a promise and it would be very dissappointing to that poor girl if I broke a promise like that." He then got quiet. "I would hate having to be in a place like that, never having a real home...like my mother..." 

The girl frowned, thinking about how lonesome Koushirou's biological mother's life was before meeting Koushirou's biological father, as the cab pulled up to a curb. He kept staring at Mimi, as if she were some kind of an object and wanted to buy her, but Mimi, as well as Koushirou, were oblivious to this. 

"Here you are, Odaiba University." 

Koushirou handed Mimi his share of the fare so she could pay the man and got out of the car, leaving her in it. Koushirou walked a little ways away from the taxi cab and stared at the big building in awe. He had never been to a University before. 

"Good, he got out first," the smiled to himself as he saw Mimi counting up the money. 

After Mimi finished counting up the money, she handed it to the man. 

"Here you go, sir, and thanks a lot for the ride." 

"You know, you _don't_ have to pay." 

"I don't?" 

"No, of course not," he winked. "Why not stay back there while I join you? I have the rest of the day off." 

"No thank you." 

"How's about giving me a little kiss?" 

"Gross! This old geezer _can't_ be serious! He has to be at _least_ 40 or something!" Mimi said to herself, shuddering at the thought. She was starting to get a bit scared at the way this man was acting. "Aren't you married or something?" 

"So, what is your point? Even if I _did _have a wife, I would still go out and find something better. Besides, I prefer nice young school-aged _pretty_ girls." 

"Get away from me!" 

"If you want, we could find something for us to do so that you can _keep_ that money." 

The man turned around, giving Mimi a look which was somewhat scaring her. Koushirou was still a ways off so he didn't know what was going on. The driver smiled as he saw Mimi trying to get out on her side. The door wouldn't budge. That side had a childproof lock on the door. Koushirou's side didn't have the child proof lock on it, which is why it was easy for him to get out. That was also the other reason why the driver had let her in first. 

The man saw Mimi about to try to get out of the other door, but he used his free arm to push her back into the seat. 

"Save all of that energy for later," he snarled, giving her an evil smirk. He then took out a knife, which caused Mimi to gasp. "You don't want to get yourself hurt now, do you? If you try to get away to your friend out there, I will _definitely_ use this!" 

The girl didn't know what to do, and was too frightened to try to scream out. The driver then pulled off with Mimi in the back and drove a few blocks and turned round the corner. Koushirou heard the car taking off and turned to see what the deal was. He saw the cab go around the corner. 

"I wonder where _he's_ going...that's a dead end." He then looked to his side to see that he was once again talking to himself. "Mimi-san?" 

He asked a couple of people nearby if they had seen a girl that fit Mimi's description, but they shook their heads. Koushirou was semi worried. He was positive that he hadn't done anything to piss her off this time and he couldn't figure out where she was or where she would go. He then decided to run and see where the taxi went. According to his map, the way the cab was speeding towards was a dead end. 

"I wonder if she stayed in the car..." 

The boy shook his head. 

"If she _did_ stay in the car, why?" 

He didn't know why, but he had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. He then decided to take out his cell phone to call the cops. He explained his situation to them and they said they would come right over. He was surprised that they had agreed to, but that didn't matter too much to him right now. He continued on to where he saw the car speed off to...   
****   
The annoying cab driver was now in the back with Mimi, but he left the knife in the front seat. He had taken out something else, but he had dropped that when he jumped into the back with Mimi. It made a loud clanking sound, which only something metal would make. 

The man had gotten in on Koushirou's side, leaving it slightly ajar, and he had put up the window that separated the front seat from the back so Mimi wouldn't try to get away. The windows were also powered and the man had turned off the engine. The girl was now trying her hardest to get away from the dark-haired man, but he just wouldn't let her and she had no way out. 

"Aww, don't act like this," the man said in a loving manner while holding her arm. "All I want is a little kiss out of you," the man said while going towards his belt buckle. 

"Let me go!" she screamed as she kicked at the man. "Leave me alone!" 

The man kissed Mimi, which angered her terribly. She got her other hand free and punched him in the face, but he just smiled at her. 

"I like fiesty girls! That makes you even more attractive," he smirked. "The other girls never complained, they just went along with it, so why don't you? It'll all be over with in just a bit." The man's smile grew even wider as he started to rip the buttons from off of her blouse. "You can scream all you want. I use this alley quite often. This is the best place to come during the day. Besides, even if someone _did_ hear you, I could always say that you agreed to it!" 

The man kissed her again, muffling Mimi's cries. He was just about to try something a bit more daring, when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, which caused him to slump down right on top of Mimi. The sharp pain to the head caused the man to pass out. Mimi felt a bit awkward with the older man on top of her, _especially_ with what he was about to do and it was quite obvious that this man was ready. That's what made her feel the most awkward, not to mention scared. 

Mimi pushed the heavy man from off of her while she felt that someone was pulling the man as well from off of her. She saw a certain redheaded boy that she knew quite well. 

"Koushirou-kun!" 

"Mimi-san, daijoubu ka!" 

*Note: Daijoubu ka pretty much means, "Are you okay."* 

He gave the girl a hand, helping her up, but he turned his head away from her abruptly, turning a bit red in the face from what he was seeing. 

"Um, Mimi-san, your shirt," he said nervously. 

The girl looked down and realized that her pretty blouse was ripped in the front. She tried her best to cover herself by holding the blouse closed. She then just stared down at the man in fear somewhat. She didn't know how to react to the situation she was almost in. What surprised her even more was that it was broad daylight. This "jerk" was about to try something in broad daylight and he really didn't care. The end of the alley was pretty dark though, even _for_ a bright, sunny day. 

Koushirou really wanted to say something to her, but he really didn't know _what_ to say to her for this particular situation. He didn't know how he should react to her either. Should he tell her everything will be okay? Should he try to act like nothing happened? Should he _hug_ her? He just didn't know. They stood there in silence, until that silence was broken by the sound of sirens. 

"Good, the police are here," Koushirou said, still feeling a bit nervous over what had almost happened. 

"The police?" 

The cops ran down the alley towards Mimi and Koushirou. 

"Are you the ones who called in?" the first officer asked the two. 

"It was me," Koushirou said, speaking up. "I was the one who called in, sir. I sensed that something was wrong and by the looks of things, I was right. I noticed that the cab that my friend and I had taken just took off and went to a deserted area and I noticed that my friend was missing as well, so I decided to call just in case something had happened." 

While Koushirou was telling his story to the first officer, the other three police officers were investegating the scene. 

"Hey, it's him!" the second cop exclaimed. 

"My god, you're right!" the sargeant said. 

"It is Doppo Fumio!" the third cop said in surprise. "We have been trying to catch him for a while!" 

"Wow!" the second cop said while handcuffing the man. "Can you believe that _they_ caught him!" 

"You're looking at a reward, son," Sargeant Manabu said to Koushirou. 

"A reward?" he asked in surprise. 

The sargeant nodded. 

"We have been after this guy for _months_! He is wanted all over this country. He just always seems to get away, though. Everytime we get a good lead on this guy, he dissapears before we can catch him. With what you told me on the phone, I found it very suspicious, which is why we took your call so seriously." 

"He always abducts young girls and attacks them in the most unpleasant of ways," the first officer explained. "His posing as a cab driver just to abduct unsuspecting girls sounds like something that he would actually do." 

"It's quite sickening if you ask me," Sargeant Manabu said angrily. "Thank goodness he didn't get the chance to _kill_ this girl. He always kills his victims after he is done with them," he said to himself in relief. 

"Was this man attacking you, young lady?" the second officer asked. 

Mimi nodded slowly and muttered out a barely audible "Yes." 

"We better take you in, check you over," Sargeant Manabu said uneasily. 

"No, no, I'm fine. He didn't do anything to me." She looked over at Koushirou. "He got here just in time." 

"Young man, you should consider yourself a hero!" the sargeant said proudly. "What you did showed that you are indeed a great citizen and a great asset to our city!" 

"Um, yeah," Koushirou responded, not really knowing _how_ to respond to such a comment. 

Since Koushirou had hit him in the head, Doppo Fumio's speech was a bit slurred. 

"I don't know what you all are talking about! I didn't do anything and you can't say that I did because she agreed to it!" the man said. "She didn't want to pay the fare so she offered her services!" 

Hearing this angered Koushirou tremendously. He literally wanted to knock the guy out for saying such a thing. Mimi just stood there, staring out into space, tuning everything out. 

"Anyway, you should arrest that boy for battery and assault!" Doppo said while giving Koushirou a hateful look. "He hit me with something!" He looked down to see a metal object by the car. It was a big wrench that had fallen out when he opened the car door earlier. 

"I'm glad I got here in time and I'm glad that I _did_ hit him! I would definitely do it again if ever given the chance. I don't normally resort to violence, but it was extremely necessary and what he was about to do was unforgivable!" Koushirou said to himself. 

"Quiet, you!" the sargeant said while giving Doppo a hateful look. "Take a look in the trunk of that cab for weapons of any sort. Search the entire vehicle if you have to!" he instructed his officers. 

"Yes sir!" they all said, going off to perform the task. 

"I am going to make _sure_ that you never see the light of day ever again!" Sargeant Manabu threatened Doppo. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," he scoffed as he was being put into the squad car. 

The sargeant rolled his eyes in annoyance at the way their prisoner was acting. After being put into the car, he kept shouting out obscene things about Mimi and how she had agreed to sleep with him to get out of paying the fare. The sargeant then turned to the second officer. 

"Lieutenant Tsuya, I want you to take care of that young girl over there. It would make sense for a female officer to deal with such a situation." 

"Yes sir!" 

Lieutenant Tsuya took Mimi aside, who told her that she didn't agree to any of what Doppo had accused her of, while Sargeant Manabu talked with Koushirou. After everything had been discussed, Lieutenant Tsuya offered to take both Mimi and Koushirou home. Koushirou figured that under the circumstances, home was the best idea suggested, but before they left, the press showed up and, of course, asked a bunch of questions. 

A lot of nearby people and Odaiba University students gathered around, curious what had happened, but they were forced to leave since this was a "crime scene." Mimi was still pretty quiet over the entire situation and didn't give any kind of a statement. Koushirou, on the other hand, gave statements when asked any questions, but made it clear that he wanted to remain anonymous and that it would be a pretty good idea if they were to keep Mimi anonymous as well. 

After they left the crime scene, Lieutenant Tsuya came to the Nishimura home first. Lieutenant Tsuya wanted to talk with Mimi's aunt and uncle about what had happened, but Mimi really didn't feel like bringing it up. Besides, her folks weren't home anyway. Since Mimi was going to be gone all day, her folks decided to go visit her uncle's parents in the country. 

"Thank you, Lieutenant Tsuya. I will be fine by myself." 

"Are you sure?" the woman asked. 

The girl forced on a smile and nodded. 

"I will be fine." 

Lieutenant Tsuya handed Mimi her calling card. 

"If you ever need to talk or anything, feel free to call, okay?" 

Mimi nodded as she accepted the card. 

"Now, let's get you home, Mr. Izumi." 

"I can get out here, ma'am," Koushirou told her. "I can walk home since I don't live too far away from here." 

"Are you sure?" 

Koushirou nodded. 

"Okay, if you insist," she finally said, Koushirou stepping from out of the squad car. "Now, remember, the sargeant will need to see you later on today or either sometime tomorrow, Mr. Izumi about that reward." 

Koushirou noticed Mimi's distant look and thought for a moment. He was wondering if it was really worth it. 

"Um, you know, I don't really need any reward." 

"Nonesense, you helped to catch a major criminal! Young women can now walk the streets feeling a little bit safer since our main attacker has been caught and taken into custody!" 

"Okay, okay," Koushirou said, trying to hurry and get off the subject altogether. "I will come in to talk with the sargeant." 

"Never mind that, we'll just come to your home." 

"My home?" 

"Is there anything wrong with that?" 

"No ma'am," Koushirou said while shaking his head, unable to come up with a reason for her _not_ to come by. 

"Great, we will see you later on this evening, then." 

With that, the lady pulled off, leaving Mimi and Koushirou in front of the Nishimura home. 

"Thank you for sticking around," Mimi said quietly. "You can go home now." 

Koushirou didn't argue with her. He couldn't understand what she was feeling or what she was going through. He wanted to give her some advice, but he didn't know what kind to possibly give her. She was normally the one to give out the advice. He then came up with an idea. 

"How about I take you out for a late lunch or maybe we can catch the rest of the party," he suggested. "Hmm, I wonder why Sora-san threw it today anyway if we have our Spring Break coming up next week. Oh, I know. I bet she's throwing it now since she's going to be extra busy with Senior related stuff to have it any later," Koushirou said to himself. 

"No thank you," the girl sullenly responded. "I would just rather sit around here for right now, if you don't mind." 

"Okay, if you say so." 

Koushirou reluctantly walked away as he saw Mimi enter the big, empty house. He really hated to leave her in that state, but that was her wish and he decided to grant that one for her. Koushirou was wondering as to how Mimi would've acted if the guy had actually gone a lot further with her. 

"She probably wouldn't be talking at all..." 

Koushirou, eventually, made it home. His folks were out as well. Since he wasn't going to be around due to "studying," they decided to go out on a romantic outing together. Koushirou, of course, didn't know that they had decided to make it a romantic outing since he wasn't around. Koushirou sat down on the couch in deep thought, thinking of all that had happened that day...   
************************************************************************************************************************************* 

**Notes**

Note 1: This is one _long_ and detailed author's note here. Lucky for y'all, it's the only one. ^^ 

I described the hitch hiking scene exactly the way it is seen in the original, give or take the order. I don't think I got the order right. A pretty, young woman in a convertible _did_ stop for Yama, but he was too shy to get in the car with the woman. When Tai was dogging Matt for not being able to get a ride here, Matt said, "At least my cat isn't stuck in a tree." There, he said, "There wasn't enough room in the car!" when Tai asked why he didn't accept the ride. He just blushed when the woman stopped who just gestured for him to get in. I have this strange feeling that she wasn't planning on inviting the others along. ^^ 

When Jou and Koushirou tried, they were almost hit, it was just cut here because I don't remember seeing it. I could be wrong though and I think I am. They weren't almost hit. Tai was. The order was different too. After Tai tried, Jou made a comment, then he pointed over at Jou, Koushirou, and Yamato telling them to try. Jou and Koushirou went next, not Yamato. Then Yamato tried and about a milisecond after he put his arm up, that woman stopped for him. That's how it was set up. ^^ 

Sora and Mimi actually _stopping_ "Duane" was cut too. They had up signs which pretty much meant that they needed to get to Odaiba. The pedophile only stopped for them because he thought that both Mimi and Sora were cute. And no, people, Duane isn't Sora's cousin in the original and his name wasn't Duane. He didn't have one. 

Like I just mentioned, he was just some pedophile who found the two cute. That's also another reason why he treated the boys of the group like crap, he just wanted Mimi and Sora along. Here's another tidbit of information on that particular ep. The song that "Duane" was listening to in the original was the karaoke version of _Shinka de Guts_, the Digimon's theme for season 1. It's a pretty cool song and it is each Digimon singing about their partner pretty much, minus Tailmon since she wasn't a "good guy" yet. Each Digimon then gives some words of wisdom or encouragement to their partner and evolves to the Adult (Champion) level. That shows how old the song is. 

For the second season, the Digimon's theme is called _Zettai All Right~Digimental Up!~_ All of the second season Digimon, minus Wormmon since he wasn't "good" yet, sing their part and stuff and then give off their main attacks for their child (rookie) level, then they armor evolve--first armor form--and give off their main attack for that level. When I first heard it, the _only_ Digimon I just couldn't understand too well was Holsmon. I finally got it after all of this time. He was using "Mach Impulse." 

The second time when Mimi was complaining about the music of Duane's being too loud was playing the song _Love Serenade~Etemon no theme~_. It's the background music (bgm) that always played whenever Etemon would show up. I wonder how they would've reacted if they played the _vocal_ version of it. lol Surprisingly, I like Etemon's vocal theme, which is ironically called _Love Serenade_. I still can't take him seriously no matter which version of the show I see him in, but the song was still cool, but that is just me. You know, I doubt that the vocal version of the song was even out yet when that ep aired. Also on that album are songs by Devimon, Ogremon, Chuumon & Sukamon, Gotsumon & Pumpmon, and Pinnochimon (Puppetmon). Probably came out after season 1 was over there. I wouldn't be surprised. Too bad the dubbers don't believe in keeping original music. It would've been nice to hear _Love Serenade_ for the English version and all of the other bgm that sounds cooler for the original...like the kids' instrumental themes. 

Oh, another tidbit of info in reference to the hitch-hiking stuff. When Koushirou and Jou were flagging down the cab, the bgm playing was _Achiki, Etemon_! It's like a little guitar riff that Etemon would always play, which went with the scene pretty good since it's so silly sounding. When they _did_ stop the cab, there was no dialogue in the original. It's just implied that they were talking to the driver. I like how it was done here better, ironically. ^^ 

I notice the dubbers love to cut hitch hiking scenes or edit 'em, probably to keep kids from going out and trying it themselves; although, I don't think many children are going to literally go out, hop a plane, and go to another country where they don't know much of the language, like the kids did in movie 3. The movie is a _grand_ example of hitch hiking edits. If it weren't for Iori, they would have never gotten those two rides. The one with that crazy driver that was supposedly some relative of Yolei's and the one where they stopped that truck and got in. As a matter of fact, any time where Miyako (Yolei) for the dub mentions something about a relative getting them the transportation, isn't true for the original. These were literally strangers picking them up. 

The first time, with the crazy driver, Iori wrote out a sign in English saying "With Monster" hoping to get a ride. Daisuke was pretty much saying that it wouldn't work, but surprisingly they did, and the guy driving just kept saying "Monsters are great" and stuff like that in English. 

With the second ride, Iori wrote out a sign that said, "Summer Memory" in English and while Daisuke (Davis), Wallace (Willis), and Miyako (Yolei) were talking, the truck stopped for Iori and they had another ride. I don't remember if that was in the dub movie or not. I've only seen the dubbed version once, but I have seen the original movie 3 at least two or three times. The second one I've seen even more since I liked it so much. The fourth movie, _Diablomon no Gyakushuu_ (Diablomon Strikes Back), about three times. Man, Diablomon sure was desperate to find Yamato (Matt) and Taichi. He was literally stalking them over the net for what they did to him from movie 2. lol ^^ 


	14. Secrets Revealed

Back to the PG stuff now, probably. I just realized something, I'm back to my undecisive mind about the Koumi stuff again. ::Blames it for rewatching Diablomon no Gyakushuu:: There were no "hints"--not that I actually look for 'em, I either like a coupling or I don't--but I did think that it was cute that the two spent the entire movie together even if they _were_ worried about everyone else and Diablomon attacking and stuff. ^^' Too bad the movie wasn't longer. 

The ending was cute. Koushirou had fallen asleep and Mimi was playfully stacking books on his head for one part of it. lol It would have been nice to see Mimi interact with the other Chosens other than Koushirou, Hikari, and Takeru. Okay, she didn't really talk with Hikari and Takeru much either. 

My favorite part was the little stuff dealing with Jou trying to get transportation for Ken and Daisuke. I wonder if he got that girl's phone number after he chased her down for her bike. lol 

Let's see, Hikari was with Takeru battling Diablomon on the net along with Taichi and Yamato, Iori was with Miyako, Ken was with Daisuke, Jou was by himself, Sora was out of town and was trying to get back to Odaiba, and Mimi was on her way to Odaiba on the plane from America. She showed up and stayed with Koushirou, Hikari and Takeru comes back later and stays with Koushirou and Mimi, Sora meets up with Taichi and Yamato, and Jou meets up with Daisuke and Ken. 

Oh, I apologize for the length of this part. I notice that whenever I mention something about school and the other students in school, the part ends up a tad bit lengthy. Hope you guys don't mind a bit of reading. Never mind all of that though. Back to the fic. I do not own anything dealing with Digimon, period.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 14: Mimi's Secret is Out!

It was the next day and everyone was in school. Sora had called Taichi the previous night and let him know that going out was off her list of things to do. Right now, everyone was already in class and half the day had already gone by. It was almost time for Koushirou's lunch break. 

Their teacher dismissed them and everyone went off to lunch. Koushirou personally wasn't in the mood to eat and went to the computer lab. He was still depressed over what had happened to Mimi the previous day. He felt responsible, pretty much. He just felt that his lack of paying attention to Mimi was the cause of her almost being attacked. He was so concerned about himself and a "stupid school building" to notice what was going on. 

"How could I have missed all of the signs!" Koushirou asked himself. "That old guy was hitting on her the entire time we were there and it was obvious that he was _way_ too old for her!" 

Koushirou noticed that Mimi wasn't as outgoing as she had been before the trip. She was very quiet during their classes, he had noticed. Not one of their teachers had to tell Mimi to quiet down for talking too much. That right there proved to him that Mimi was still upset.   
****   
Back in the cafeteria... 

"Oh, and this one is the funniest!" Yuko said while pointing to a photo. "Look at his hair! Yuuji-kun looked hilarious and he was literally going to stand on his head and play the autoharp for you!" 

"How, we _don't_ know!" Ayame said. 

Chinatsu and Ayame laughed at the photos, expecting Mimi to laugh along with them, but she didn't even crack a smile. 

"Mimi-chan?" Ayame asked in concern. 

"Oh, I am sorry," she apologized. She then forced on a smile and looked at the photo. "My, Yuuji-kun looks quite funny." 

The three girls figured that something was wrong with Mimi. All three of them had tried calling Mimi the previous night, but her aunt had told each one of them that Mimi wasn't in the mood to talk. 

"What's wrong, Mimi-chan?" Chinatsu asked. "You never told us about your trip to Hikarigaoka with Izumi yesterday." 

When the girls had visited Mimi with Miyako and Hikari, she told them that she was going to Hikarigaoka with Koushirou for their history project. 

"It was fine," the girl responded somberly, as if her mind was elsewhere. "It is a beautiful city." 

The girls shrugged and turned away from her for a moment to discuss Mimi's current state. 

"So, what do you think?" Chinatsu asked. 

"I don't know, but it's not like her to act like this." 

"I know, I know!" Yuko said. "She told Izumi that she was madly in love with him, but he didn't return her feelings and he literally sees her as a friend--we _all_ know that Izumi has no interest in girls what-so-ever and only likes computers--and now whenever she goes to Hikarigaoka or thinks of Hikarigaoka, she will only feel heartache and pain." 

The other two girls gave her a look. 

"Sorry for being a hopeless romantic," Yuko smiled. 

"Hopeless is right," Ayame muttered. 

"What are you three doing?" 

"Nothing," Yuko said, turning her attention back to Mimi. 

"We were just planning on what we are going to do our last day of school and what to do for our Spring Break," Ayame said. 

"Other than our having to go to the Senior Graduation during school that day," Chinatsu added on. 

"This is our last week as eighth graders!" Yuko cheered. "Aren't you excited?" 

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Mimi asked unenthusiastically. 

"I don't know, maybe it's because you haven't had a decent smile all day!" Yuko pointed out. "What did Izumi do to you to cause you to miss the party yesterday and to upset you so much?" 

"He didn't _do_ anything!" Mimi told her friend, upset at the accusation. "He is a _great_ friend!" she said as she stood up. 

The girl then left and went to the restroom to try and calm herself, leaving her friends with bewildered looks upon their faces. 

"I wonder what is with her," Chinatsu said. 

"Izumi must have done something and she's just covering for him," Yuko said. 

"Come on, Mimi-chan is a good judge of character and Izumi is a decent person," Ayame said. 

"Who _knows_ how he is when one is alone with him! He may have lots of faults that no one else knows of or he may actually be some kind of an animal!" 

The other two looked at Yuko and shook their heads. 

"Okay, like I said, I like a good scandal every once in a while." 

The three continued their conversation about Koushirou and Mimi's trip, not realizing that their conversation was being listened to...   
****   
In the computer lab, Koushirou was on the computer, looking for some information... 

"Since going back to Odaiba Univeersity is out, unless I go by myself, I'll just check out their webpage. I wouldn't want to put Mimi-chan through the trauma of actually going back," he said to himself as he typed out the webpage address. When the page loaded, he shouted out, "_Prodigious_! That didn't take long at all..." 

Right at that moment, Koushirou heard four angered voices. 

"Hold it, Izumi!" the first voice said. 

"I knew we would find him here," the second responded. 

"We want some answers," the third person demanded. 

"And we want them _now_!" 

Koushirou got up, startled, and saw four angry looking boys staring at him. 

"Takamatsu-san, Ueda-san, Tomokazu-san, Hashimoto-san?" 

"What did you do to Mimi-chan!" Misao ordered. 

"We know that _you're_ the reason she missed Takenouchi's party yesterday and she was all happy this past Saturday before the party according to...um, our three sources we so happened to overhear at lunch." 

Seki rolled his eyes at his cousin for the statement he had made. 

"Way to go Einstein for giving out _too_ much information!" Seki told him. "Those three would kill us if they knew we were eavesdropping!" 

"If you do not tell us what you did to poor Mimi-chan, who hasn't smiled once today, we will _find_ a way to get it out of you!" Ukyo threatened. 

The other three boys nodded in agreement. They _really_ hated to see Mimi get upset over anything and always try to find the source of the problem to try and fix it, but it had never come up before since it was rare that Mimi was ever really upset about anything. She was always happy and outgoing whenever in school and around her friends. 

"I don't know what you four are talking about!" 

"Stop your lying!" Yuuji told him. "We know you did something to upset Mimi-chan yesterday!" 

"She has been sad all day!" Ukyo added. 

Koushirou stood his ground. He was growing rather annoyed with all four of them. 

"I am not going to tell you four anything!" 

"Don't make us beat a confession out of you!" 

Koushirou was surprised at the threat that Misao had just given him. He didn't think of Misao as the violent type, the other three either. 

"I told you that I didn't do _any_thing to her! We were working on our school project yesterday, now if you will excuse me, I have more work to do if I want to get a decent passing _grade_!" 

The boy sat back down on the computer until he felt his collar being pulled, forcing him to stand back up. The one to pull him back up was Misao who was a tad bit bigger than he was. 

"You don't work until you tell us what you did to Mimi-chan!" 

"No!" Koushirou shouted at Misao. "I said I didn't do _any_thing to her for the millionth time!" 

Misao pulled his free hand back and bawled it up into a fist. 

"I'm sorry to have to do this, Izumi, but we gave you lots of chances to cooperate and you just ran out of them." 

Yuuji, Seki, and Ukyo were surprised. They didn't really expect Misao to try and hit Koushirou. They figured that he was bluffing, like they were. 

"Um, Misao, I don't think that you should..." 

"Quiet, Ukyo!" Misao said, putting his full attention back on Koushirou. "I am getting a confession out of you whether you want to give us one or not!" 

Koushirou closed his eyes, awaiting the punch until they heard a voice shout out, "Stop!" Misao stopped his punch in mid air and turned to see who it was that had yelled to stop, hoping that it wasn't a teacher or even worse, their principal. The other three boys looked back as well and Koushirou opened his eyes to see a very angered looking Mimi with her hands on her hips. 

"How _dare_ you! What are you four doing!?!" 

Misao quickly released Koushirou's collar and laughed nervously. By him releasing Koushirou's collar, it made him fall to the floor, but he picked himself up rather quickly. 

"I'm waiting!" the girl demanded while tapping her foot angrily. 

"We were just having ourselves a little fun," Misao said with a nervous laugh. 

"It didn't look that way to me! I heard you threatening him before I came in here! How _dare_ you four invade my personal life!" 

"Mimi-chan, please!" Seki begged. "Don't be mad at us! It was all Misao's idea!" 

"Yeah," Ukyo added, defending himself. "We just went along with him!" 

"We didn't even know he was really going to hit Izumi! We just thought he was bluffing! _We_ were! We just wanted to _scare_ the information out of him!" 

"When are you going to learn how to shutup!" Seki asked Yuuji in annoyance. 

"Oops," he said with a nervous laugh. 

"Who said I was going to really hit him! I don't fight! I was just going to scare him!" 

"You four, just go, will you? Please?" 

The four boys frowned, realizing that they had made a mistake threatening Koushirou, even if they _were_ all empty threats. They left, so Mimi and Koushirou thought. They were listening through the door. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I guess so," Koushirou said while brushing himself off. He then looked over at Mimi. "What are you doing here anyway?" 

"I was looking for you. I was wondering when we could go back to Odaiba University and Tokyo U. We are running out of time." 

"You actually _want_ to go after...after what happened yesterday?" 

The girl nodded. 

"Nothing happened," the girl said with no emotion. 

"Are you feeling okay?" 

"I'm fine, really," she told him. She then gave herself a bit of a pep talk. "I have to be strong for Koushirou and have to get over this. Nothing happened and that's all that matters. I can't walk around sad all day long! The man is behind bars and he will not be attacking or killing _any_ other girls." 

Even though Mimi said that she was okay, Koushirou didn't really believe her. 

"Mimi-san, you really don't have to go if you do not want to and under the circumstances, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't." 

"I am going and that is final; whether you want me to or not!" Mimi said in annoyance. "I do _not_ have to worry and I want to go..." 

"But the quickest way there is by taxi from here." 

"So, nothing wrong with taking a taxi cab," Mimi said, trying her best to act as if nothing were bothering her. "No sir," she said, her voice starting to quiver, "there is nothing wrong with a taxi." 

"Mimi-san?" 

At this point, Mimi's eyes were starting to water. 

"It is nice and quick and is cheaper than the bus and the subway sometimes, depending on where you have to go, but you _do _get where you have to go and you can trust the driver!" 

After she said, "you can trust the driver," Mimi burst into tears and sat down in one of the computer lab chairs. The four boys didn't know what to think. It was obvious that it wasn't Koushirou that had made Mimi upset and they all felt bad for accusing Koushirou. Meanwhile, back inside the classroom, Koushirou was trying his best to calm Mimi down. 

"It could happen to anyone!" she cried. "Why!" 

"I don't know, but we don't have to worry about that anymore."   
****   
Outside the door... 

"Worry about what?" Seki wondered. 

"Mimi-chan is crying," Misao said in alarm. 

"But it isn't Izumi's fault," Yuuji muttered.   
****   
"I am _not_ strong!" Mimi said, still crying. "I'm trying to be strong for you and go back, but I can't! I had nightmares all last night about what _could_ have happened to me and what _would_ have if you hadn't shown up! I just couldn't sleep because of what happened! I felt dirty after I got home yesterday too! I still _do_ in fact! I bathed and I bathed, but I still can't get that _disgusting_ feeling to go away! I want to go with you, but I still feel bad because of what happened yesterday!" 

"Mimi-san, you are one of the strongest people I know. You are still willing to go even after what happened. I am afraid that I don't understand how you feel completely and you know that I can't because it did not happen to me, but I have been feeling pretty lousy all day too!" 

"Why?" 

"Because it was _my_ fault!" 

"What?" 

"If I hadn't been so wrapped up in myself over this _stupid_ project and my selfishness in reference to my parents, it would have never happened!"   
****   
"_What_ would have never happened?" Ukyo asked. 

"I wish they would say more," Seki complained. 

Misao got tired of listening and decided to look in the room through the crack of the sliding door. When they left, they didn't close it all the way. The other three decided to do the same thing, but remained quiet. They didn't want Mimi to get crosser than what she already was with them.   
****   
"It wasn't your fault," the girl said while wiping away her tears. "It was mine!" 

"No, this is nowhere _near_ your fault! You should not blame yourself for what happened! You are the _last_ person that is at fault! I can't believe that you would actually _say_ something like that!" 

"But you kept trying to get me to go to the party or to not come along with you, but I did anyway because of my stubborness!" 

"Mimi-san...don't. It _wasn't_ your fault and I refuse to let you _believe_ that it was!" 

The girl frowned, but realized that her redheaded companion was right. 

"Why don't we agree that it was nobody's fault." 

"Yeah, I can live with that. It really wasn't when you think about it. Just...bad timing I guess. Neither one of us needs to be beating ourselves up over this." 

"But you had good timing." 

"You know what I mean..." 

She nodded. 

"Yeah, I guess it was meant to happen, but," she frowned, "it just bothers me that stuff like that happens, not just here but all over the world I am sure." 

Koushirou stood there and nodded in agreement. 

"It bothers me too. It should not be allowed. I still wonder what makes people like that..." 

Mimi cried again, but wasn't wailing like she was earlier. She was just shedding tears. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I don't know," she said while wiping her tears. "I just feel better talking about this now and crying is my way of letting it out. I wasn't even planning on coming to school today since I was so depressed, but I came anyway since we are having our exams." 

The girl stood up and walked over to Koushirou and gave him a big hug. Koushirou nervously and awkwardly hugged her back.   
****   
"NANI!?!" the four boys gasped in thought.   
****   
Mimi then kissed him on the cheek. Koushirou felt himself going red, _incredibly_ red. He had never received a kiss from a girl before, other than his mother but that didn't count, and he _surely_ wasn't expecting to get one from Mimi. The four boys were mortified by the sight and didn't know what to say or do. They just stood there, staring through the crack of the door, unable to move due to the shock. 

"Um...wh-what was that for?" Koushirou asked nervously, still hugging on Mimi. 

"For being a great friend and for yesterday." 

The two stayed embraced like that for a while in silence with Mimi hugging the boy tighter.   
****   
The four boys finally walked off, still in a bit of shock from Mimi's actions. 

"She...she..." 

"_Don't _say it, Misao! Do _not _say something so...di_sturb_ing!" Yuuji shuddered. 

"I've lost her," Seki frowned. 

"You never _had_ her!" 

"Oh yeah!" Seki snapped at Ukyo. "You never did either!" 

"Wait, maybe there is still hope!" 

"Yeah," Seki chimed in, agreeing with Misao. "It was a _friendship_ kiss and hug, not a romantic one!" 

"_That's_ a relief," Yuuji said while wiping his brow. 

The four boys would've continued on if they weren't stopped. 

"Ishidzuka-sensei!" Yuuji and Seki said together. 

"Hi there, boys. Trying to get to class early I see," the man said, staring down at his watch. "You still have a couple of minutes left until your lunch break is over and until my History class starts." 

"Yeah, we were on our way there," Yuuji told him. 

"Yes, it is very intriguing, your history lessons," Seki added on, sucking up pretty much. 

Ukyo and Misao didn't have Ishidzuka for any of their courses, so they didn't have to worry about him and let Yuuji and Seki do all of the talking. 

"I'm glad to hear that. I will be right back, I have to get these papers copied off for class...part 1 of your four part exam. I really shouldn't be such a procrastinator. I waited til the last minute to copy these papers off. I should have known that I wouldn't have enough for your class. Too bad the copier in the Teacher's lounge is down, looks like I will have to use the student one." 

With that the teacher walked off. 

"I'm glad he didn't ask any questions," Yuuji said, feeling relieved. 

"Me too," Seki agreed. 

"Too bad we actually _have_ a copier," Yuuji complained. 

"I know what you mean, cuz. I wouldn't mind getting out of that exam!" 

"I hate this new curriculum," Ukyo complained. "What goof decided to make us take exams during _this_ time of the year anyway!" 

The other three boys shrugged. 

"Hey, the bell is going to ring!" Misao warned. "We better hurry on to class!" 

"Yeah, he's right," Seki said. He then thought for a moment. "Oh no!" 

"What?" the other three asked. 

"Mimi-chan!" 

"What about her?" Yuuji asked, looking as if he were about to cry from what he was about to say next. "She's with Izumi!" 

"Ishidzuka-sensei said that the Teacher's copier was broken! The student copier is in the Student Computer lab that the Computer Club uses! Mimi-chan is going to get in trouble if Ishidzuka-sensei finds her in there with Izumi hugging and stuff! They could end up suspended for doing such a thing!" 

"What can we do?" Misao asked. 

"Nothing," Ukyo said while pointing down the hall. "He's already there." 

"Uh-oh," both Seki and Yuuji said in unison. 

Ishidzuka opened the door of the lab to find both Koushirou and Mimi on the computer. The boys had snuck behind him to see what was going to happen, but to their surprise, they weren't hugging or anything. 

"Ah, Tachikawa, Izumi," the man greeted. "It is nice to see you looking up colleges. It's never too early I always say." 

He saw that Koushirou had Odaiba University's webpage up. Mimi and Koushirou broke their embrace a short time after the shocked four left, but stood there in silence for a while. When they heard someone coming towards the lab, they acted as if they had been working the entire time. 

"Konnichiwa, Ishidzuka-sensei," the two greeted back nervously. 

He went over the copier to start running copies off for their exam. A few moments later, the bell rang. 

"You two better get back to class. I don't want to have to mark you two tardy." 

"Yes sir," the two obeyed. 

"Mr. Izumi, is something wrong?" 

"_Wrong_, sir?" 

"Your face is all red." He then laughed. "I hope you aren't getting a fever before my exam." 

"I am fine sir!" the boy said quickly. "I can't _wait_ to take it!" 

"Well, you two better hurry on. I just hope that I'm not late myself." 

The two didn't question him and hurried along. Since their talk, Mimi was more calm and collected. Crying really _did_ help her release all of the stress she was holding in, and she was glad that she had talked with Koushirou. She could tell from yesterday that he wanted to try and help her out in some way and he had by just listening to her and putting up with her crying today. 

While walking down the hall, Mimi was surprised at herself. She had hugged _and_ kissed Koushirou. She was still trying to figure out _why_ she had, though. She had never even given Michael a kiss and she considered him a _very_ close friend, and crush, before moving back to Odaiba. 

Koushirou was just as surprised at Mimi's actions as Mimi was. He was wondering why Mimi had kissed him. He was just some computer nerd who had been living a lie his entire life. It just didn't "compute" to him as he walked down the hall, trying to rid himself of his obvious, deep blush. 

When the two finally reached class, they sat down and took their seats. Yuuji glared jealously at Koushirou as he took his seat while Seki was in deep thought over the entire situation with Mimi and Koushirou. When Mimi sat down in her usual seat next to Ayame and Yuko, they noticed that Mimi looked a bit happier--even though Mimi was pretty much hiding the fact she was still upset but only doing a better job of it so far--and both were glad of this. When they got the chance, they both started to show their photos of the four boys from the party. Mimi laughed like her usual self and called all of them "cute." 

After school was over, Mimi told Koushirou to wait for her while she put her school things away. While there, she ran right into the sleuthing duo, Miyako and Sora. 

"Okay, spill it," Miyako told Mimi. "What was wrong with you yesterday?" 

"Huh?" 

"You were all depressed yesterday, why?" Sora asked a little less hysterically than Miyako. 

"Oh, that..." 

The girl lowered her head. She really didn't want to get back into it. She had finally gotten out of that depressed mood of hers, somewhat, and she didn't really want to go back to it. 

"We are your friends, Mimi-chan," Sora said sitting down next to her. "We were just worried about you." 

"Yeah," Miyako said, sitting on the other side of Mimi. "You were all happy before you took that trip, and then you surprise us by coming back depressed." 

"I really don't want to get into that right now," she said while standing up, putting her school books away. "It would just make me sad again." 

"Mimi-oneesama, c'mon!" Miyako said, throwing her hands up into the air. "You didn't even tell us what was bothering Izumi-senpai or _why_ he had to go to Hikarigaoka in the first place! I am growing very concerned for the both of you!" She then muttered, "I'm starting to get grey hairs here from worrying so much!" 

Sora and Mimi laughed at Miyako's statement. 

"Okay, maybe I'm not getting grey hairs, but I _am_ worried about the both of you." 

"I will tell you about Koushirou later. I have to meet up with him now." 

The two had looks on their faces meaning, "_Please_ tell us what's going on before we crack!" The look was more obvious with Miyako than it was with Sora, though. 

"I know, just watch the evening news or read over this morning's paper. It should be in there as to what happened. I really don't want to discuss it...not right now anyway. I am going to tell you myself, but not now." 

"Okay, if you insist," Sora said. "We will look at the news and the paper." 

"Thank you for understanding and I feel that you will after reading it," Mimi said while hugging Sora. "I am sure that it will be a main or feature story. I could really use a talk, though. Call me, both of you, tonight at about 8:00 or either come over, your choice..." 

"Okay," the two said. 

Mimi hurriedly changed out of her school shoes and put them into her locker. 

"Well, I have to get going now. Ja!" 

The girl hurried out of the locker room and bumped into both Taichi and Yamato. 

"The invisible girl has appeared," Taichi laughed. 

"_Invisible_ girl?" 

"We were all worried about you yesterday since you didn't show up for the party," Taichi told her. 

"Yeah, I was hoping that you would show." 

"Um, something came up," she said with a frown, not wanting to talk about her unfortunate encounter. "Has either one of you seen Koushirou-kun?" 

"Not lately," Yamato said. 

"Oh, never mind. I see him." The girl then ran off. "Bye guys!" 

The girl ran off to join Koushirou who had been waiting around for her before Taichi could get his real question out, if she had seen Sora. Mimi and Koushirou were going to give Odaiba University another try, regardless of all of the uneasiness they were currently feeling amongst one another. It was a combination of feeling awkward from the kiss and hug and the other part was because of what had happened that previous day...   
****   
Back to Sora and Miyako... 

"Come on!" Miyako urged. "Let's go to the library and check out this morning's paper." 

Sora nodded and followed Miyako out. They both ran into Taichi and Yamato. 

"Hey guys," Miyako greeted. 

"Good, we found you!" Taichi said. 

"Found us?" Sora asked. 

"I was looking for you," Taichi told her. "You rushed right off after class." 

"We were going to talk to Mimi-chan about yesterday." 

"What's wrong with her anyway?" Yamato asked. 

"We don't know. _Some_thing happened to her yesterday. When we went to visit her, she was terribly depressed. She was with Izumi-senpai all day yesterday." 

"No _wonder_ Mimi was so depressed," Taichi joked. 

"Taichi!" the girl sweat dropped. 

"Just kidding, Sora." 

"So, she was with Koushirou all day yesterday," Yamato repeated, taking in the information. 

"I guess that explains why he didn't show up for the party, but I was already expecting _him_ not to show up," Taichi said. 

"They were working on their school project that is due by the end of this week," Sora explained. 

"Come on Sora-san! She said she didn't want to tell us what happend and to just look it up in the paper. I want to know what happened to her yesterday!" 

"Right!" Sora nodded. "Bye guys!" 

"Wait, I thought you said she was with Koushirou and working on a school assignment." 

The two girls ran off towards the school's library, not even hearing Yamato's statement. After they left, Taichi kicked the floor in annoyance. 

"Why didn't you ask her?" Yamato asked. 

"She's obviously too busy." 

"You have to ask her sooner or later before somebody else does." 

"Like who?" 

"Um, I don't know," the boy started nervously. "Me for instance?" 

"Yeah right!" the boy laughed. "You're still trying to ask Mimi. You had the _perfect_ opportunity just now and you blew it!" 

"She's been pretty busy herself." 

"At least you won't have to worry about anyone else asking her since she's an underclassman, but then again, there _are_ some in our year that has taken a liking to her..." 

"Well, she's the only girl in this school besides Miyako and Sora that I actually don't mind hanging around. They don't treat me like a celebrity and they give me attention because they are my actual friends, not some crazed fan. Well, I guess Chizuru is okay too." 

"Miyako's sister?" 

"Yeah, she treats me like any other student, even though we aren't really good friends or anything, but I'm sure she has already been asked." He sighed. "Who knows, I may just offer to play the entire time and not worry about it at all." 

"Good idea." 

"Thank you for _all_ of your support," Yamato sarcastically responded with a sweat drop. 

"Glad to have helped," Taichi said, not really catching the sarcasm in Yamato's voice since he didn't really care. He then stuffed his hands into his pocket. "I better get home. I'll call her later and try to ask again." 

"All right, catch ya later, but before you go, what happened with Hikari? You never told me." 

"Nothing. She said that she wasn't feeling well, Daisuke offered to walk her home, and on the way, she started to feel better and decided to catch a movie and a bite to eat at a fast food place on the way home. I also think I remember Hikari mentioning something about going to the arcade too..." 

"Why does that sound like a date to me?" 

"Hikari is too young to date! I won't let her! Who _knows_ what is going on through the minds of all of these crazed boys around here!" 

"You are _way_ too protective of your sister!" 

"Well, what if muggers or murderers try to attack her when she is hanging out just because she's a pretty young girl!?! Huh? What then?!?" 

"Okay, you are _definitely_ over doing it. Why are you thinking like this all of a sudden? You never did before." 

"This morning, my father was reading the paper and was talking about some guy attacking some girl yesterday and was about to...do stuff with her. I was just thinking, what if that happened to Hikari!" 

"Only sickos do that and I doubt that Hikari would get into that kind of trouble. She is always around friends. If it isn't Takeru or Daisuke, it's her other friends from school. I wouldn't worry. I'm sure that guy is getting what he deserves for attacking that girl. Did they say what her name was? I hate just calling them, 'the girl' or 'the guy' and stuff." 

"Anonymous and the person who saved her is _also_ remaining anonymous." 

"I wonder why..." 

"Who knows, but I'm out of here. Bye!" he called to Yamato, walking off. He then muttered to himself, "I have to get up the nerve to ask her..."   
****   
"Feature story, feature story, feature story..." Miyako muttered as she went through the paper. 

"One thing I always hated about the paper, there are normally a lot of big stories." 

Miyako started to laugh suddenly. 

"Miyako-chan?" 

"Oh, sorry. I was just reading the comics. I _just_ can't resist them!" 

"Mi_ya_ko-chan!" Sora said while taking the paper away from her. 

"Sorry." 

"I am sure it would be in the front if this is a big story." She read the main headline title. "Attacker Finally Caught!" 

"Attacker?" 

"That's the most emphasized story on the page. Some guy was caught and apprehended yesterday over near Odaiba University." 

"Hurray...a burglar," Miyako yawned. 

"No, not a _bur_glar," Sora said while reading a bit of the article. "Something much worse!" 

"A bank robber!" 

"No, seriously! This guy attacks young girls, defiles them, and then normally kills them, and apparently, there was a reward out on him!" 

"Gross! Serves him right to be in jail! I hope he gets the chair!" Miyako thought for a moment. "But what does this have to do with Mimi-oneesama?" 

"I don't know, but she said the main feature story." 

"There must be another story that has something to do with her." 

"Who knows" Sora shrugged as she started to read bits and pieces of the article out loud. 

Attacker Finally Caught! Yesterday, Doppo Fumio was finally caught and apprehended. He also seems to like only young school-aged girls and kills his victims if provoked by them. Yesterday he attacked again, only he was caught this time. A young school aged girl, who wishes to remain anonymous, was attacked by this man yesterday. She owes her life to a young man who "sensed something was wrong" and contacted the authorities before investigating himself. 

"He got there just in time," says Officer Tsuya, Lieutenant of the Odaiba Police Force. "We would not have gotten there in time if it weren't for this young man. He saw what was happening and attacked, saving the young girl's life. We do not advise one to go up to such a person, it is dangerous, but in this case, we are grateful that this boy did." 

When asked about what he was thinking at the time of the assault, the boy responded, "I _wasn't_ thinking. I just knew I had to help somehow. He was about to hurt her and who knows what else." The boy, who also wishes to remain anonymous, didn't care about the reward and actually turned it down seeing as how he was more concerned about his friend getting to safety... 

  
The girl stopped reading and gasped. 

"Oh no..." 

"Oneesama was the girl and..." 

"...Koushirou-kun was the boy that _saved_ her!" Sora finished up, trying her best not to cry. "He wanted to remain anonymous! That is why that cop was at his home yesterday! That must was this Lieutenant Tsuya person." 

"Oh my gosh! She was attacked! But, how?! It was broad daylight!" 

"According to this article, he doesn't care whether it's day or night. Once he sees a girl he likes or wants, he just attacks them and does unspeakable things to them!" 

The girl shuddered at the thought. 

"She could have been _killed_ yesterday!" 

"I now know what she meant by not wanting to say anything else," Sora said sadly while closing up the paper. "I'm sure that _is_ depressing." 

"Should we tell her aunt and uncle that's why she was all messed up yesterday?" 

"No, let Mimi-chan do it. It isn't our place to." 

"I guess you're right, but I _hate_ people like that!" Miyako said while getting angry. "They are _so_ lucky that I am not the person who is going to judge his trial! I would make him suffer and make sure he never attacks another girl again and if he does, he wouldn't be able to _do_ anything with her!" 

"I agree with you. I would rule unjustly and without a clear head too due to anger!" She shuddered. "I wonder how far he had gone with her before Koushirou-kun showed up..." 

"You mean...you don't think..." 

Sora nodded. 

"I don't think so. If he had, I doubt she would have come to school today." 

"Yeah, you're probably right. She probably would have been worse off, too, if he had. I just can't imagine something like that happening!" 

"But why didn't she talk with us about this when we came over yesterday?" 

"Maybe she was still in shock." Sora looked at the photo of Doppo Fumio being taken away to jail. "They are both going to have to go to trial for this and I have this strong feeling that Koushirou-kun is once again keeping this away from his parents." 

"I wouldn't be surprised if he were. He has been keeping secrets from everyone lately. Look at that history project of his. As far as his parents are concerned, he is writing a paper on some famous historical figure and of course everything that happened yesterday. He was over at the Yagami's studying for upcoming examinations." The girl then smiled a bit. "Do you think that if Izumi-senpai were to run off and get married that he would tell his parents about that?" 

"I should hope so," Sora laughed. "It would be very awkward if he were to show up with a girl and a family and they not know about it!" 

"True." 

"I guess we will just have to wait for Mimi-chan to fill us in on everything dealing with this guy. I wonder where they were going this afternoon. They _should_ be studying." 

"Maybe they already know the material, but that _is_ a good question. C'mon, let's get going, the library is closing." 

"Okay." 

The two girls started to walk out of the library. 

"Hey, don't you have to get ready for Friday night?" Miyako asked. 

"But it's Monday and I have more important things to worry about, like the rest of my exams tomorrow. We get to finish them up early since we are seniors." 

"I know, but you still should get ready for it!" 

"I will worry about that Thursday when I don't have to worry about last minute studying." 

The two girls walked out of the library and headed home, glad to know Mimi's secret and why she had been feeling so depressed when they went to see her...   
****   
A while after their last class let out... 

"Come on, let's go practice," Chinatsu urged. 

"I don't feel like practicing today," Ayame yawned. "I'm all volley'd out." 

"Yeah, we don't have any club meetings this week since we are spending it studying for exams and taking them!" 

"I want to be one of the best senior players of the club!" Chinatsu told her two friends. "What's wrong with that?" 

"Nothing, just go practice by yourself," Yuko told her. "We're leaving." 

The three girls were in the school gym with other students, it was after school. Ayame and Yuko had met her there. 

"What I want to do is relax!" Ayame said while stretching. 

"Hey, look," the girl said, coming up with an idea. "The boys are playing basketball." 

"You know, we really _should_ practice," Yuko said while staring at the boys play. 

"Yuko-chan!" Ayame shouted, trying to get Yuko's attention. 

"Aren't they cute!" the girl said with hearts in her eyes. 

"I knew that would get her," Chinatsu snickered. 

"You know, sitting around watching wouldn't hurt us," Ayame said, staring as Yuko was. 

The two took a seat in the bleachers. 

"So much for my idea," Chinatsu muttered as she sat down beside them. "They want to watch the boys play." 

"Ooh, look at that boy over there!" Ayame pointed. "I hear he is the co-captain of the Boys' Soccer Club!" 

"That position is going to be open pretty soon since he is a third year," Chinatsu explained. "The position of captain is going to be open as well. The captain is Yagami Taichi and he is graduating this year. It is also pretty cool how Taichi-senpai is also captain of the regular Soccer Club." 

"Wow, it's the star Tennis player of the Boys' Tennis Club!" Yuko drooled. 

"He is about to go out and practice!" Ayame exclaimed. 

"We should probably go out to the courts as well," Yuko smiled dreamily. 

"Here I am, wanting to improve my game like the others have been doing in our club, and you two want to sit around and drool over boys!" the girl said with her arms crossed with a look of annoyance. "We have more important things to discuss anyway!" 

"Like what?" Yuko asked while keeping her eyes glued to the third year co-captain of the Soccer Club. 

"Like Mimi-chan for instance. You two never told me what happened during class with her." 

"She acted as if nothing had bothered her at all," Yuko told her. "She laughed at the photos and was smiling like she would normally." 

"I don't know what she did, but she was totally happy when she came to history class with Izumi. It was like nothing was bothering her at all!" 

"Izumi?" 

"Yeah," Ayame nodded. "I guess she went to see him after she abruptly left lunch." 

"So I guess whatever happened to her yesterday with him has been fixed," Chinatsu said, glad that Mimi was feeling better. 

"I guess so, and I'm glad for that!" Ayame said. "I hate seeing Mimi-chan upset and depressed." 

"Hey, what happened to her four admirers?" Yuko asked. "They weren't bugging us today wondering where she was during lunch." 

"Yeah, you're right," Chinatsu recalled. "They almost _always_ eat lunch with us trying to weasel information out of us."   
****   
"We have to do something to get Mimi-chan to forgive us!" 

"But how?" 

"How about a present?" 

"She doesn't seem like the present type to me..." 

"That shows how much _you_ know!"   
****   
"Well, what do you know, there goes our four _goofs_ now," Yuko laughed. 

A few bleachers down, all four of Mimi's main admirers were discussing. 

"They said something about forgiveness," Chinatsu noted. "I wonder what happened." 

"There _is_ a way to find out you know," Ayame smirked. 

"Of course," Yuko said with a sneaky look. The girl cupped her right hand over her right ear. "This is the _best_ way." 

The other two did as Yuko and listened in on their conversation.   
****   
"I really feel bad that we upset Mimi-chan during lunch today," Yuuji said. 

"Misao, this is all _your_ fault!" Ukyo argued. 

"_My_ fault?!? What do you _mean_ it was all my fault!" 

"Just like he said!" Seki scolded. "It _is_ your fault that she is mad at us!" 

"Yeah, you were acting too convincing!" Yuuji yelled at him. 

"I though you were going to _really_ do it," Ukyo said.   
****   
"I wonder what they are talking about," Yuko asked. 

"I wonder what Misao did to upset Mimi-chan," Ayame said. 

"It couldn't have been _that_ bad if you said Mimi-chan came back to class happy and smiling."   
****   
"Don't blame _me_ because I have great acting skills," Misao responded smugly. "Being in the Drama Club pays off." 

Ukyo rolled his eyes at his friend. 

"I am _surprised_ at you three! How long have we known each other? You know I am not violent and that I am not a fighter! I was just bluffing!" 

"Too bad Mimi-chan didn't see it that way," Seki muttered. 

"Why don't we all just face the facts, we lost our chances with Mimi-chan to Izumi," Ukyo sighed. 

"No, we have not given up yet!" Yuuji said, determined not to believe such a thing. "Do not be a quitter!" 

"Oh come off it!" Ukyo argued. "Mimi-chan came into the computer lab, defended Izumi, and asked _us_ to leave! We find out that whatever happened with them when they went on their trip out of town yesterday _wasn't_ Izumi's fault! Just give it up! You heard what she said and you _saw_ what she did!"   
****   
"Ooh!" Yuko squealed. "I love good juicy gossip!"   
****   
"I agree with Ukyo, there isn't much we _can_ do now," Seki said slowly. "Like he said, you saw what she did with Izumi." 

"I am no quitter!" Misao said. "I am going to get back in good with her again!" 

"Me too!" Yuuji said. 

"That's good and all, but let's face it, she has no interest in either of us what-so-ever, other than friendship; _especially_ after that stunt we all pulled," Seki told them. "We should have never threatened to beat him up, and Misao, _you_ should have never pretended to get ready to punch him!"   
****   
"Aww man! There was almost a fight and I _missed_ it!" 

"Hold it Yuko-chan, that's not important," Chinatsu told her friend. "They just pretty much said that they made empty threats. I want to know what Mimi-chan did that has them all gloomy."   
****   
"You guys just watch!" Ukyo cautioned. "Next time this year, Mimi-chan and Izumi will probably be an item. I can see them walking down the hall, Izumi with his arm around her shoulder or either them walking hand in hand." 

"No!" Yuuji and Misao shouted out in fear. 

"C'mon you two! Get real!" Seki told them. "She's already hugged _and_ kissed him and they are just friends! If Izumi doesn't get a thing for her from that, he just isn't right!" 

"Or else those rumors I have heard about him are true," Ukyo muttered. 

"Can we hope those rumors _are_ true?" Yuuji asked. 

"Yeah, I'm all for it!" 

Seki and Ukyo gave Misao and Yuuji an annoyed look and shook their heads.   
****   
"Ehh!?!" the three girls asked in surprise. 

Yuko, Ayame, and Chinatsu fell over after hearing what Seki had just said and ended up falling down to where the four boys were. 

"What do _you_ three want?" Yuuji asked. 

Yuko picked herself up quickly, grabbed Yuuji by his shirt, and started to shake him. 

"Did you say that Mimi-chan and Izumi _kissed_!!!" 

"You...are...choking...me!!" Yuuji gasped for air. 

"Hey, stop eavesdropping in on our conversation," Misao told the girls. 

"That's why we came to the gym since it is so noisy in here," Seki said. 

"That is an invasion of privacy!" Ukyo argued. "How do you know what we are saying isn't confidential!?!" 

"We could say the same thing about _you_ four!" Chinatsu said, giving the four a look. "We overheard you and we admit we were eavesdropping, but _how_ did you know that Mimi-chan was with Izumi all yesterday and was out of town? We never mentioned it to you or anyone _else_ for that matter. Only a few of us knew that she was going to be out of town and what she was really up to because she told us and that did _not_ include either of you!" 

Yuuji, who was still rubbing his neck, trying his best to recover from being choked by Yuko, said, "Hey, we were _not_ purposely eavesdropping! We were just listening when we weren't supposed to!" 

Misao, Seki, and Ukyo face faulted. 

"_Ba_ka!" Seki shouted to his cousin. 

"So you _were_ listening in on our conversation during lunch!" Ayame said angrily. 

"And the reason we didn't see any of you _rejects_ was because you were off threatening Izumi for the bad mood Mimi-chan was in!" Yuko added. 

"Idiots!" Chinatsu yelled at the four. "See what happens when you jump to conclusions!" 

"Well, you were thinking the same thing!" Misao argued back. "We heard you say that you thought Izumi had something to do with her mood too!" 

"Come on everyone, we are all friends here," Yuko said, trying to calm everyone down. "I just want to know one thing, is it true what you said about Mimi-chan and Izumi in the computer lab? You were standing right there when it happened?!?" 

"No, we were watching from the hall. They thought we left, but we were curious why Mimi-chan was so upset." 

The three girls rolled their eyes. The three boys gave Yuuji a look. 

"You _definitely_ talk too much," Misao muttered. 

"Anyway, she started to cry because of something that happened to her yesterday and apparently, Izumi was feeling bad for her all day and was blaming himself for whatever it was that happened too, but they came to a mutual agreement that it was neither one of their faults," Seki explained. 

"She also mentioned something about wanting to go to Odaiba University and Tokyo U, but Izumi was hesitant to go because of whatever happened yesterday," Ukyo added on. "That is when she started to cry." 

"It was upsetting hearing her cry, but she did calm down, saying that crying helped to get rid of her stress or something," Yuuji said. 

"She _then_ did the unspeakable after she cheered up!" Misao shuddered. 

"She _kissed_ Izumi!" both Misao and Yuuji cried. 

"How did he react to it!" Yuko asked. "Do _not_ leave out a _single_ detail!" 

"First she hugged him and then she kissed him on the cheek," Ukyo sighed. "He sounded a bit nervous." 

"No wonder she was so happy when she got back to class today," Chinatsu said. 

"It was a _friendship_ kiss! _Not_ a romantic one! It was just on the cheek!" Misao interjected. 

"I wonder if it would be in America given the situation..." 

"Shut up, will you Seki!" Yuuji told his cousin. "Stop telling lies! She _did_ live in America for a couple of years and that's one of the customs there as far as I know!" 

"Hey, don't blame me for you and Misao's stu_pidity_! Ukyo and me are moving on, you are the ones after a girl who is obviously taken even if she does not realize it yet!" 

"Unless those rumors about him are true!" Yuuji said again. 

"I doubt it," Ayame said. "Just because he doesn't _act_ interested in girls doesn't mean that he isn't!" 

"Yeah, he's just immature when it comes to girls like you four are immature when it comes to _brains_!" Chinatsu said. 

"Whoa! This news is _totally_ gossipy!" Yuko said while rubbing her hands together. "Who do I tell first..." 

"_No_ one!" Chinatsu told her. "If Mimi-chan didn't tell you about what happened with Izumi, why would she want the entire school to know about it?" 

"Yeah, try to keep your mouth _shut_, Yuko-chan!" 

"Couldn't I tell Miyako-san at least?" Yuko asked. 

"I _guess_ you could, but don't come right out and say it," Ayame told her. "Hint at it. If she already knows, go ahead. If it is obvious that she doesn't, don't." 

"Bingo!" the girl smiled. 

"Aww, because of our talking, it is too late to practice!" Chinatsu complained. "I have to go home and study for the third part of Ishidzuka's history exam!" 

"Wow, your class is already on part 3 of his exam?" Ayame asked in amazement. 

"Yeah, he is giving us two parts a day so we can hurry and finish them," Chinatsu explained. "He has lots of confidence in us and is very positive that we will pass. I sure hope so. I would hate to come here after our Spring Break just to find out that I am still an eighth grader." 

"That's not it!" Yuko said. "The reason your class is probably ahead of ours is because you are in the advanced classes, we are all in the basic ones." 

"We have to study for part 2 of his exam," Seki said. "Hey, do you all want to study at my place?" 

Yuko, who had been starting to admire Seki since he had pretty much come to his senses about Mimi, agreed for everyone. The surprising thing about her admiring Seki was that she had always had a _slight_ thing for Yuuji, but she could never admit it. 

"Yeah, it would not hurt to have a study group," Chinatsu said. 

"I have to study for Konishi's math exam for tomorrow and my English language one for Hayashibara," Ukyo said. 

"Hey, I didn't know that you had Konishi and Hayashibara like us," Ayame said. 

"Yep, I sure do." 

"Isn't Hayashibara's class hard!" Ayame said. "I am studying nonstop! English is a tough class! Mimi-chan is the only person I know of that is actually acing it without actually having to study!" 

"She should be exempt from it since she lived in America for a few years," Seki laughed. 

"No kidding!" Yuko said. "She's making the rest of us look bad!" 

"Misao, Yuuji, are you guys coming with us?" Seki asked. 

"Nah, I'm going home to try and think of a way to get Mimi-chan to like me again," Misao told him. 

"I'm with him!" 

"Suit yourself, but you _do_ know that apologizing to both her _and_ Izumi is on the top of the list, right?" 

"Yeah," Misao muttered. 

"You know, I have this feeling that Mimi-chan isn't mad at you four," Ayame said. 

"Yeah, she saw our photos of you all and talked about how cute you all were," Yuko smiled. 

"Wow! She called me cute!" Yuuji said in a star-struck manner. 

"Nice, nice, but I'm still going to try to think of a way to get Mimi-chan to like me." 

Seki and Ukyo sighed at the two and shook their heads. 

The group exited the gym and headed on to Seki's place to study, minus Misao and Yuuji. 

"Wait a minute, _what_ photos of us?" Ukyo asked, after realizing what they had said. 

The three girls didn't say a word, and giggled as they walked out of the big school... 


	15. University Mishaps

Man, this is turning out _much_ longer than I expected it to. That always happens I notice. 

Hey, here is a question for all of you readers, do you think that the characters in this fic are _too_ out of character? I'm just curious what you all think. I am one of those people who like to try to portray the characters the way they are originally, which is why Daisuke isn't portrayed as a jerk for any of my fics like the dub and the dub characters make him out to be, and stuff like that. Daisuke still acts silly for the original, but the others don't think of him as a "jerk" and he doesn't act stupid or anything and Takeru and Daisuke don't hate each other, like some people make them out to be. As a matter of fact, the two are pretty good friends. Takeru seems to hang out at the Motomiya home quite a bit. 

Like I was saying, I try to keep them as close to "in character" as I can get them, unless it is for humorous situations, like that goofy Piedmon fic of mine, or how I personally think that particular character would react to a certain situation. I probably won't go back to the other kids for a while now, for the sake of your not getting _too_ bored since parts with Tai or the other Chosens, Mimi's friends, her admirers, etc., always ends up being extra long. :Looks over this part: Okay, this part is a bit lengthy too. Sorry about that. I know how some people really dislike reading long, detailed parts. I introduce a new character in here who talks and complains a lot about his family, which is why it ends up so lengthy. 

Now as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Digimon anime in general, so ya can't sue me Toei since I put up the disclaimer and gave ya recognition. :~p   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 15: University Mishaps...

It didn't take the two long, but both Mimi and Koushirou had reached Odaiba University. Mimi was willing to take a taxi and kept herself content and calm during the entire ride. Koushirou kept looking over at her during their ride feeling incredibly sorry for her and was a bit worried. He wasn't sure if the way Mimi was acting to what had happened was normal or not. He wasn't very knowledgable on that subject. Math, puzzles, and computers were his thing. 

"Here you are, Odaiba University," the driver said. He then looked at Koushirou and Mimi, noticing their clothes. "You guys sure look young to be college students and your clothes don't look college like. They look more like regular school uniforms." 

"We aren't college students," Koushirou said while handing the driver the fare. "We're visitors." 

The two hopped out of the taxi. Mimi had a distant look on her face and she looked a bit paler than what she would normally as she looked down a few blocks. 

"Um, well, we better get going, that is if you want to, but if you don't..." 

"Stop talking crazy!" Mimi cut him off while forcing on a smile. "Let's go!" 

The girl walked ahead of Koushirou and entered the large building. He just shrugged and followed behind her. The two stared in awe at all that they saw. 

"Wow, this place is _huge_!" Mimi exclaimed. 

"Yeah, it looks bigger on the inside than what it does outside!" 

"Now that we are here, where do we go?" 

"When I was looking up information at their site, before your _boy_friends showed up..." 

Mimi blushed nervously from the statement. She always semi liked the attention, but she wasn't sure if Koushirou was saying that jokingly or out of annoyance or maybe even _jealousy_ from all of the attention she got from boys in general, but she ruled out the last possibility. She didn't think that it was too likely. This was _Koushirou_ here. He would rather crack a computer code than to voluntarily associate with a person of the opposite sex, mainly because he wasn't too social. 

The main reason for his lack of interaction with girls in general was because Koushirou was _very_ shy around girls, except for the ones of the Digidestined group, but there were only four of them. People never seemed to take that into account that Koushirou was just shy around girls, not that he had no interest in them what-so-ever, which is what quite a few people believed, like Ukyo had pointed out about the rumors to Seki and the others. Koushirou, on the other hand, was oblivious to all of these so called rumors about him. 

"...I read that we would have to go to the information desk. It should be right in front of us since we came in through the front door." 

"I don't think that was the front door we came through. There sure are a lot of students just hanging around doing nothing..." 

"And eating! Look at all of those food places!" Koushirou cried. His stomach then growled. "That reminds me, I didn't eat anything today..." 

A student with short, brown hair, wearing a pair of long khaki shorts, an orange sweatshirt with a hood, and thin framed glasses, clumsily bumped into Koushirou and Mimi, but turned to apologize and to greet them. 

"Oh, I am sorry. I am _such_ a klutz!" 

He picked up his book bag and slung it over his right shoulder, but all of his books and notebooks fell out of it. He sighed as he started to pick the books to stuff back into his book bag. 

"I was in such a hurry and here I am, late again," he complained out loud. "I hate taking evening classes, but I _have_ to if I want to get enough credits to graduate from here! I can _not_ go home with bad marks. My parents will disown me if I do! Damn those three older brothers of mine, always doing well in their academics and sports, now my parents expect the same of me, graduating with all honors like _they_ did!" 

The boy picked up his book bag, but noticed he left his notebook on the floor. When he kneeled to pick it up, the books he had just spent his time putting into his bookbag, fell out. He sighed and went back to complaining about his family and stuffing the books back into his book bag. 

"I sure to do feel sorry for my younger brother and my younger sister. They are probably going to be tortured just like me; well, maybe not my brother won't since he's already favored by them and maybe not my sister since she's the only _girl_ of the family. They will probably expect her to do something boring and traditional since she _is_ a girl. Either a housewife, or a nurse, or something like that. My parents are _so_ old fashioned! They _really_ need to join the 21st century! They should know that I do _not_ want to become an engineer! I want to take up art or either become a fiction writer!" He then muttered as he stuffed in the last book, "Stupid parents..." 

Koushirou and Mimi gave the boy a nervous look and started to back away slowly. 

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," the boy said nervously. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything. Just ignore my complaining. I'm just a bit stressed out." He noticed the clothes that both Mimi and Koushirou were wearing. "You guys aren't from around here, are you? Those uniforms are kind of kiddy looking. You _have_ to be Junior High students." 

The two nodded. 

"Well, pleased to meet you anyway. My name is Fujitani Keisuke and you two look a bit lost. Need any help?" 

"Cool!" Mimi exclaimed. 

"What?" Keisuke asked. 

"My father's given name is Keisuke." 

"Cool, what a coincidence," Keisuke said. "I guess the name is pretty common." 

"Must be," Koushirou said plainly. 

"Now, do you two need any help?" 

"Yeah, we are looking for the information desk," Mimi explained. 

"You guys are a little ways off from there. This is the commons room. Everyone comes here to hang out or study before heading on to their dorms. You guys got lost pretty quickly." 

"I guess we were so busy admiring the school, we got lost," Koushirou said with a nervous chuckle. 

"No problem, follow me, I can take you there. So what if I am late...again." 

The two thanked the boy and followed him. 

"What brings you two to Odaiba University anyway?" the older boy asked during their walk. "Looking for an older brother or sister?" 

Mimi shook her head. 

"Are you a part of a group and you just got separated from it?" 

"Well, no actually," Koushirou said. 

"You came here on your _own_?!?" he asked in surprise. "Wow, I know that you are supposed to look into colleges and universities during your Junior High years, but you don't have to literally _go_ to them." 

"We're just trying to obtain some information," Koushirou explained. "Tokyo University is next on our list." 

"Tokyo _U_!" the boy whistled. "You have to be a _genius_ to get into _that_ school! What are you, a couple of brainiacs?" 

"No way," Mimi said while pointing to Koushirou. "He's the genius of the group." 

"I am _no_ genius," Koushirou said while shaking his head. 

"What are you talking about? You always make good grades." 

*"I am no genius...I am just passionetly curious." 

"I guess...you _do_ seem to be your smartest when you act all curious about things and try to figure them out." 

"I hate it when people just assume that I am some kind of a genius when I am really not. I just have a good memory and am curious about a lot of things which makes me knowledgeable on that particular subject. That does not make me overly smart in any way. I am not the type to study nonstop or anything. I don't go around reading the dictionary or quoting the encyclopedia or solving unsolvable chemical equations just for fun." 

"That's true," Keisuke laughed, agreeing with Koushirou. "If you don't do stuff like that you can't be a _super_ genius!" 

"Anyway, we are just looking for some information," Koushirou told him. "It is _really_ important that we obtain it." 

"Sorry for being so nosy, but what kind of information? I might can help you out with it." 

"I doubt it," Koushirou said while shaking his head. "You are too young." 

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment," he smiled. "But I _did_ have three older brothers who went here. My oldest brother is already in his early 30s and all of them went here. My oldest brother is about...33 or 34 now. Maybe I can answer your questions based on the boring stories they used to tell me." 

"I doubt it," Koushirou said again. "We are curious about a teacher that used to teach here years ago." 

"What year?" 

"He stopped teaching here, due to unavoidable circumstances, back in 1990," Koushirou explained. 

"My older brother was going here back then. There's a lot of us as you already know." 

As Keisuke started to mention his family, he took out photos from his wallet to show Mimi and Koushirou, who had stopped walking towards the information center to converse. 

"My oldest brother is Kyuwa and he should be turning 34 this year. He is married and he is a medical doctor. He lives in Osaka. The medical jobs are good there. Oh, he started here in about--I was about 7 at the time--oh yeah, in 1988. He graduated from here in '92, but continued his education to become a medical doctor, even though he had already started raising a family a couple of years later." 

The man had the same kind of hair like Keisuke, only it was a bit longer, and he seemed short compared to Keisuke. In the photo, along with Kyuwa, was his wife, who had long auburn hair, and they had two children standing in front of them. A boy and a girl. The girl, who looked to be the youngest, looked to be about seven or eight and the oldest looked to be about nine or ten. 

"It was pretty tough for him, but he never gave up! Something us Fujitanis are known for, our devotion and never giving up no matter how difficult the situation may seem!" 

Keisuke changed the photo over to show another Fujitani brother. 

"Next in line is my brother Masaki and he should be turning 30 this year. He isn't married or anything. He attended here in '92 and graduated in '96. He's a professor at Harvard in America. It has been a long time since we all have seen him last." 

The man in the photo was wearing a suit and looked to be really neat. His hair was perfectly trimmed, his tie was perfect, and there wasn't a single wrinkle in his suit. He too seemed short compared to the tall, slim Keisuke. Masaki also seemed to be a bit on the husky side compared to the other brothers from what they had seen so far. 

"Next is my 26-year-old brother, Toru. He isn't married or anything either. He attended here in '96 and graduated from here in '00 with lots of honors. He was thinking about going pro for Soccer, but he finally decided on a career and decided to get into Anthropology and Archaeology. He has always been fascinated with history and geology. He studied abroad for his final two years in Arizona in America. He was going to some archaeology school or something. He is still there and is still furthering his knowledge in Anthropology and Archaeology." 

Toru had long brown hair, slim and tall like Keisuke, and also had a round baby face like Keisuke and he also wore glasses, but he didn't really _look_ like Keisuke. His hair was tied back into a single pony tail like most guys with long hair. The photo was of him in front of the Grand Canyon holding a rock and a chizzel. 

Mimi stared at the photo and found Toru to be _extremely_ cute to her. She laughed to herself, imagining how Yuko would react to the photo. 

"This is my younger soon to be 20-year-old brother, Yeijiro. He started here a year ago and still goes. He is probably up in his dorm studying. So far, he is making great grades, like always. So far, he is into researching and science and wants to become a chemist. I have this feeling that he is going to study abroad in America as well. He has always talked about America and how he has always wanted to go there ever since he was a child." 

The photo of Yeijiro was a nice one. It was his high school graduation photo. He had short brown hair and didn't look a thing like Keisuke or the other brothers. The other brothers all looked a bit similar, but Yeijiro was definitely the odd one looks wise. His height was average and so was his weight. Mimi figured that Yeijiro just took after his mother more than his father or vice versa. 

"Last, but not least, is my younger, 19-year-old sister, Izumi. Well, she _will_ be 19 later on this year." 

"What a coincidence," Mimi said, pointing to Koushirou. "That is his family name." 

"Cool. Anyway, Izumi hasn't started any colleges or universities yet," He rolled his eyes. "My _parents_ haven't decided on her future yet. My sister and me are the black sheep of the family. Threatened to be disowned constantly because of what we enjoy." 

The photo of Izumi showed a girl that looked _exactly_ like Keisuke. She had the same round face, long brown hair, and a really nice smile. She was a bit tall for your average girl, but she was a nice, normal looking size. 

"And you already know me. I'm 23 and I started here two years ago. I spent my year after my graduation arguing with my parents to take up Art & Literature until I finally gave in to their wishes and expectations of me and decided to get into chemical engineering. My sister is going through the same thing right now. She wants to become a song writer and musician, but my parents don't want her to. I _really_ sense flower arranging in her future if it were up to my parents or modeling. Something girly or traditional like." 

Keisuke shook his head in annoyance at the way his parents acted. 

"I just _don't_ understand my parents. With my oldest brother, they were behind him 100 percent with his medical career saying stuff like, 'It is good to become a doctor because you are helping people.' Same thing goes for Masaki, they were behind _him_ 100 percent too with his choice. What is _totally_ surprising is how they were with my brother Toru on his decision. 

"For one, they aren't all that keen on us moving away to America so far away from them, but Toru-niisan wanted to become a _pro_ Soccer player! Do you _know_ what the chances of _any_one going pro _any_thing is!? My parents were for him, but were happier when he decided to take up some form of a science. It just isn't _fair_! They use that, 'What are the chances of your becoming a professional artist,' and 'There is no future in becoming an artist since they all starve,' or 'What are the chances of your getting published if you become a writer,' and comments like that. Same thing for my sister and she has a lot of musical talent! She can write music, play instruments, and has a great singing voice!" 

Keisuke was about to continue on, when he noticed the looks on Koushirou and Mimi's faces, which clearly meant, "Why is he telling us this?" 

"I'm sorry again for rambling," he aplogized. 

"That's okay," Mimi said, giving him a nervous smile. "We don't mind listening to you ramble." 

"I really shouldn't be. It's a habit I've always seemed to have, talking more than what I should," he said. "Well, come on, let me get you to the front desk." 

The three started off again towards the information desk. 

"Hey, you never did tell me who the Professor was that you were wondering about." 

"Oh, his name was Fukami Hiroaki. Do you know anything about him or do you remember any of your brothers mentioning him?" Koushirou asked. 

"Sorry, doesn't ring a bell. Kyuwa may know though. What did he teach?" 

"He was a Mathematician." 

"Hmm, sorry. I was so young when he attended here. He _did_ complain about his math and science courses, though, but that's not saying much because Kyuwa never cared for math or science much. I _do_ remember him complaining about that, but I don't remember what his professors' names were. Strange how he became the doctor of the family." 

The three had finally arrived at the information desk. The two were on the other side of the school. _How _they got way over there to the other side of the school was a mystery to them. 

"Here you go, guys." Keisuke noticed the lady sitting at the front desk and frowned a bit. "Good luck getting any information out of her. Anje-san is here and not the other lady." 

"What do you mean?" Koushirou asked. 

"Yeah, what is wrong with her?" 

"That lady isn't the nicest person in the world. I heard that she was fired for insulting one of the students' younger siblings and is finishing out the week and is snapping at everyone, but I don't know if it is true or not, you know, that being the reason. I also heard that she's had a bad romantic life, which is why she treats everyone like crap in general. She is pretty weird and she seems to hate children for some odd reason." 

"If she is so mean, how did she ever get a job having to associate with other people?" Mimi asked. 

"I have _no_ idea. She must know someone who works here or something for _her_ of all people to get that job or maybe, at one point in her life, she was nice. Too bad I have never seen her acting nice. Did you hear about what happened near here yesterday? Some girl was attacked and Anje just scoffed at the whole thing saying that the girl probably deserved it!" 

Mimi almost blew up from that statement, turning a bit red in the process. She _definitely_ did not want to meet this "Anje" person, in fear of yelling at her. Koushirou was surprised as well. He couldn't believe that someone could think that way. 

"It is a real shame. I feel sorry for the girl. I hope she is doing okay. I was out there too, but I couldn't get a good look at the girl or the guy that was with her. Just the jerk that attacked her. All I know is that the girl was really pretty, according to some of the witnesses around, and my best buddy, Yutaka, claimed that the boy was a redhead, but who knows, right? I still hope the girl is doing okay." 

"I am sure that she is fine," Mimi said with no emotion, but trying not to cry at the same time. 

"Mimi-san..." Koushirou started. 

"Sorry, I am fine. I just dislike people like that, sorry," the girl said quickly. 

"Leave it up to one guy to make us decent guys look bad, but this is something you guys shouldn't have to worry yourselves over." 

Right at that moment, the clock chimed 5:30. Keisuke sighed, dreading what he had to do. 

"I better get going, but before I go, what are your names? I spent so much time scaring you with my life story, I forgot to ask," he laughed. 

"Izumi Koushirou..." 

"Tachikawa Mimi..." 

"Pleased to meet you. I'm sorry for boring you with my life story and my twisted family with their messed up priorities." 

"That's okay," Koushirou told him. "Thanks for showing us here." 

"No problem and good luck with Ms. Anje and if you ever need help with anything, just ask for me! I can ask my brother about that instructor you were asking about." 

With that, the boy ran off, leaving the two at the information desk. 

"He sure is a nice person," Mimi smiled. 

"Yeah," Koushirou agreed. 

"His brother, Toru-san, especially!" 

"How would you know if you've never _met_ him?" 

"Ooh, the desk," the girl said with a nervous sweat drop, changing the subject abruptly. "Go on and ask!" 

Koushirou gave the girl a look and shook his head at her as he walked up to the desk. 

"Hi there, how may I help you," the woman asked routinely in a semi-annoyed manner while doing her nails. 

Since Anje was doing her nails, she hadn't seen Koushirou or Mimi yet. When she looked up, she rolled her eyes in annoyance. 

"Um, hello. I am trying to obtain some information about a past instructor of yours," Koushirou told her. 

"That _so_ helps me," the woman sarcastically responded. 

Mimi didn't care for this woman's attitude too much already. She really seemed quite annoyed and irritable, just like Keisuke had warned them. 

"Why are a couple of kids snooping around here anyway looking for information on a past instructor. What makes you think that _I_ would know about this person!?!" 

"Maybe because this is the infor_ma_tion desk," Mimi said in an unintentional smart-allecky manner. 

"Whatever," the woman scoffed at Mimi. She then turned her attention back to Koushirou. "And _whom_ do you want this _information_ on?" 

"Fukami Hiroaki. He was a Mathematician here, but he stopped teaching here almost 14 years ago because..." 

"Why do you want this information about him?" the woman interrupted. 

"For my own personal use?" Koushirou asked with a shrug. "I am working on something and I need some information about him or a photo, or anything you can find on him! It is _very_ important that I obtain this!" 

"You sure are rude," the woman muttered sourly. 

"Old hag," Mimi muttered in English. 

"What did you say!" Anje demanded. 

"Oh, rad!" Mimi said in English nervously. 

"Whatever," she said again, growing to hate Mimi more by the minute. "Why in the world do you want a picture of a man who no longer teaches here?" 

"Because I _do_, that's why!" Koushirou said, growing annoyed. 

"You have _no_ right walking up in here acting disrespectful to me! Don't you know that you are supposed to _respect_ your elders, boy!" 

"It is very difficult to respect or consider you an elder when you are acting like a child yourself," he responded cooly. 

"That does it! I can't _stand_ kids! I came here so I wouldn't have to bother with them!" 

"That's not fair!" Koushirou protested. 

"It isn't fair that kids like you exist! What happened to controlling the pet population! There are too many of you!" The woman then raised her voice, literally shouting at the two. "Now get out of here you redheaded brat and take your ugly bimbo looking girlfriend with you!" 

Students who had been walking by, heard what Ms. Anje had said to both Koushirou and Mimi and muttered things amongst themselves about how Ms. Anje shouldn't even be allowed in the building. Keisuke had also come back and heard what she had said. He was on his way back to the commons area to get a bite to eat since he had forgotten that his evening class had been cancelled. Keisuke didn't have the _best_ memory in the world. 

Both Koushirou and Mimi got looks of surprise on their faces as Keisuke walked up to the two. This woman wasn't just rude, but she was downright disrespectful. Keisuke hadn't prepared them for that. Mimi didn't know _how_ to respond to such an insult, seeing as how she had never received one before; not like that anyway. She was ready to blow her top at the lady and to give her a piece of her mind! She was already mad at the fact that Anje felt that "the girl attacked probably deserved to be," but that insult was just as bad. One advantage of living in New York was that she had toughened up quite a bit. She would have said something if Keisuke hadn't spoken up. 

"_Anje_-san, how could you talk to them like that!?! Just because you dislike children doesn't mean you should take it out on them!" 

"Stay out of this!" Anje snapped at him. "Stop getting on my case for stating the truth! That boy _is_ a redheaded brat and so is that annoying, ugly girl with him!" 

Keisuke, as well as the other students around, was upset at the way that Anje was treating them. Koushirou, on the other hand, had grown _terribly_ annoyed with this woman and for once dropped that polite and courteous persona that he was well known for. 

"Look here, _lady_, I don't care if you dislike children or not, but you have _no _right to go around insulting us just because we _are_ still 'children' in your eyes! How _dare_ you insult Mimi-san like that! She is prettier to me than you'll _ever_ be because she is nice to everyone and has a nice personality and she is _definitely_ no bimbo because bimbos are brainless and dumb! You are quite ugly with that attitude of yours! Ten _times_ it in fact!" 

"Koushirou, don't waste your time," Mimi told him. She then looked over at the lady. "She's just jealous because I actually _have_ friends, unlike her." 

All of the students who were gathered around, along with Keisuke, clapped for the crack Mimi and Koushirou had delivered to Ms. Anje. 

"Why you _little_..." the woman growled. 

The lady took out a phone and was about to call security, when a heavyset man walked up to them. 

"Is there some kind of a problem here?" the man asked, noticing the crowd. 

"Yes, Mr. Toshika! There are," the woman gagged temporarily and pointed to Koushirou and Mimi, "_children_ on the grounds causing trouble!" 

"This lady here insulted us and refused to help us," Koushirou said in defense. "Just because of our age, she treated us disrespectfully." 

"Children are meant to be seen, _not_ heard!" 

"You know, Anje-san, that is what we call discrimination," Keisuke said, giving her a smug look. "You can get into a lot of trouble for that." 

"Why don't you go back to your class that you are probably flunking! You are one of those Fujitani brothers, are you not?" 

"Yeah, what about it?" 

"You are the one that is bringing shame to your family, aren't you? The big _disgrace_ of the family!" 

All of the other students gasped at what Anje had said. 

"I know _all_ about you! You stand out like a sore thumb with all of your brothers being successful and worth something, but you are the complete opposite! You have a younger brother that goes here, all honors, great at sports, and then there is you! I wouldn't be surprised if you _never_ graduated from here! Well, if you had extra money I am sure that you probably could! You could pay people off to get you out of here!" 

The boy was growing red with anger, but kept his cool. He was wondering, pretty much, how his brother, Yeijiro, would have responded if he had been around. 

"Hey, don't get mad at me just because you can not get along with people and I choose my own path! Just because they were all great in whatever it was _they_ were interested in does not mean that I will be all that great in something that does not interest me at all!" He told the woman. "That _does_ it! I am switching my major and I am going to study literature! I _hate_ Chemical Egineering! I want to become a writer! If my parents disown me for that, then _too_ bad!" he told himself. 

"Another child that would be better off _not_ exisiting..." Anje muttered. 

"Hey, I am in my 20s! I am _no_ child!" 

"Look here you four eyed---" 

"That is _enough_!" Mr. Toshika shouted before Anje could finish her sentence. He then turned to all of the students who were watching. "Okay everyone, get going, there is nothing more to see here." 

The students started to disperse the area like the man had ordered them too. The only ones still there was Keisuke, Koushirou, and Mimi. 

"That goes for you too, young man," he said, looking over at Keisuke. 

"Hai, Toshika-san." 

"I do apologize for her behavior," the man apologized to Keisuke, but low enough so that Anje wouldn't hear. 

"No problem," he smiled. "The sooner she is gone the better!" 

"Come with me, please," Toshika said to the two OJH attendants. 

The man pulled both Mimi and Koushirou aside. 

"Please, ignore her. This was supposed to be her last week here anyway for her insulting and snapping at people and that overall bad attitude of hers. The way she just carried on was just uncalled for and she just cut her week short. I will be _sure_ to report her to the head of the board. I am sure that they will agree with me about getting rid of her early. But never mind all of that. I am Mr. Toshika, head of the Admissions department here at Odaiba University. Now what is the problem?" 

"That _lady_!" Mimi muttered to herself with her arms crossed in annoyance. 

"Are you two ready to experience the college life already?" the man asked giving them a proud smile. 

"No sir, we are trying to find some information on a past instructor," Koushirou explained. 

"A past instructor?" he asked while rubbing his chin. "Hmm, I might can help you with that. I have been around here for a long time and I got to know the instructors just as if they were family." 

"Thank you! I am Izumi Koushirou and I am trying to find information on the Mathematician, Fukami Hiroaki. He taught here for a while until his unexpected expiration, back in April of '90." 

"Oh, I remember him," the man said sadly. "He was very young when he taught here. He was a great man, Fukami. A really dedicated teacher he was. The last time I actually _associated_ with him was at that party that everyone threw for him and his family after they returned from that conference in America." 

The man started to scratch his balding head as he tried to think of what he could possibly say about him. 

"I don't know what kind of information I could give you about him other than the obvious. He died years ago along with his girlfriend in a really bad car crash. We were all pretty good friends. They also had a child, but who knows whatever happened to him. I heard that the boy was with them when they died, but survived the crash somehow. I don't know anything more about that. I am assuming they found a home for the child." He looked over at Koushirou. "Other than what I said, what can I get for you?" 

"I was wondering exactly why my fa....Fukami-san decided to teach here, how he came here, stuff like that or photos, anything like that." 

"He came here because of his love for mathematics and his wanting to share his knowledge of mathematics with others. His teaching methods were also kind of different. He wasn't the type to just have you open up your textbook and work from the chalk board. If the students couldn't figure out his math problems, he would let the students quiz him and his work wasn't always right when he worked them out, but I think he did that on purpose to give the other students some confidence because when the students took it, they always brag that they scored better than 'Fukami-hakase.' As for photos, no, I am sorry. I do not have any photos of him and I don't think the school does either. No photos that I can think of, anyway, but there was a mermorial dedicated to him a short while after he died, but that was taken down years and years ago. Who _knows_ where it is now..." 

"Thank you, sir," Koushirou frowned slightly. 

While Koushirou was frowning, Mr. Toshika started to study Koushirou's features. 

"That boy sorta looks like Miki with that red hair of his," he said to himself. 

The boy walked out slowly with Mimi a short ways behind him. They started by the information desk and saw Anje scowling at them. Keisuke was a little ways away as well. He was going to offer them some dinner since they had had such a rough evening. 

"Koushirou-kun, Mimi-kun..." 

He ran up towards the two, but before he could say anything else, Anje started up. 

"Did you get your worthless information on your old teacher!" the woman asked in a smart-allecky fashion while filing her nails. 

Keisuke rolled his eyes at the way Anje was acting when she spoke to them and was about to say something himself, but a certain redhead beat him to it... 

"Yes, I got information on my _father _that I tried to get by coming here yesterday, but of _course_ some idiot had to cause trouble by being sex crazed, hindering my search even more!" the boy said, growing angered, releasing all of the anger he had in him due to the previous day. "Yes, I got information on the man I never had the honor of meeting because I never _knew_ he existed since I never _knew_ I had been living with people who kept this great fact from me! About them not being my real parents!" 

At this point, Koushirou was ex_treme_ly angry and continued on. 

"Living a lie my entire life about who I _really_ am and where I come from! Yes, I _did _find out about him! I now know why I have a love for math and computers and why I have this yearning to obtain and retain knowledge! _Yes_, I got some of the information that I have been seeking for, no thanks to you, you, you..." 

Koushirou refrained from finishing and yelled out in frustration to keep himself from saying something that would make Mrs. _Izu_mi ashamed to associate with him. 

"His father...yesterday?" Keisuke asked. 

Koushirou ran out the front door, leaving the woman who looked a bit puzzled. 

"Father?" Anje asked. 

Keisuke saw Mimi give him a look and frowned. She then ran after Koushirou. 

"Poor kid," Keisuke said as she saw the two run off. He then thought for a moment, coming to a surprising realization. "Wait a second! Mimi-kun must was the one that was attacked! Yutaka knew what he was talking about afterall! Koushirou _is_ a redhead and Mimi _is_ quite pretty for a girl her age! That is probably why she got all weirded out when I mentioned it! Oh man and I just _had_ to go and talk about it!" He smacked his forehead in stupidity. "Keisuke _baka_!" 

"What happened?" Mr. Toshika asked, walking up to Anje. 

"Father?" the woman said again. "That spoiled brat said something about the teacher he was asking about being his father..." 

"His father?" Mr. Toshika asked. 

He then thought for a moment, coming to a realization. 

"That's the child!" he said in surprise to no one in particular. "That's the child that Fukami brought back after the conference! No _wonder_ he resembles Miki so much! It is her son! That boy _can't_ be no older than 14 or 15 years old! Of _course_ I wouldn't recognize him! The last time I saw that child he was under a year old and I barely remember what he looked like from then, only that Fukami had a son!" Mr. Toshika turned to Anje angrily. "You _really_ blew it, Anje! You had _no_ right to prevent him from getting any information on Fukami! I am sure that he is turning in his grave _right_ now for the way you treated that boy! That boy's mother _and_ father were killed in a car crash shortly after they came back from America!" 

"A car crash?" Keisuke asked himself, overhearing. 

"People die, who cares!" she scoffed. "At least they died together as a loving couple," the woman said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. 

The man shook his head at the bitter lady in disgust...   
****   
"Koushirou, chotto matte!" 

*Note: That pretty much means, "Koushirou, wait up!"* 

The last thing Mimi wanted was to walk on a street by herself. She just didn't feel all that "safe" anymore due to what had happened to her the previous day. It was almost 6:30 in the evening. 

Koushirou stopped running and let Mimi catch up with him. 

"That old bi...er...jerk!" Koushirou nearly cursed, only catching himself since it wasn't like him to resort to name calling and insulting. "I should give her a computer virus that'll wipe out her entire hard drive and no matter _how_ hard she tries, nothing will be able to be restored!" 

"Calm down! At least you know what your father was like...sort of. You learned that from Mitsuishi-san." 

"One measly photo...that is all I ask!" the boy sighed. He then shouted, "Why in the world can I _not_ find one!" 

"We will, you just have to remain positive. I know that we will get all the information that you need to find out about your real parents and I promise to help you!" the girl smiled. "Besides, I could use the extra credit," she added on quickly to herself. 

"Thanks." 

"You know, we have a lot of information about them already, thanks to Mitsuishi-san. We even found out about how you are part American, in a way. Now, how about we go and get you something to eat?" the girl offered. She the laughed. "Your stomach is growling so loud I can barely hear myself talk." 

"Ah, gomen," the boy smiled with a sweat drop, embarassed over his stomach. 

The two walked off to go to the nearest fast food place. 

"Hey, Koushirou, what is your opinion on Misao-kun, Yuuji-kun, Seki-kun, and Ukyo-kun? 

"They're okay, I guess," Koushirou muttered. 

"Do you _really_ think they were going to hurt you?" 

"No, not really. Takamatsu is not the type to fight. He wasn't even swinging hard." 

"I didn't think so. I think I will forgive them. They were just concerned about me." 

"I guess..." 

"But I'm not going to say or do a thing until _they_ apologize first, to you of course!" 

"That's nice..." 

The girl realized that the conversation wasn't going anyplace and changed the subject. 

"You know, we are getting all this information for our project, but we haven't come up with a way to present it. We have until the end of the week!" 

"That's right!" 

"Not to worry, though. I'm sure we can come up with something." 

The two came to a pizza place. The semi fancy kind where you have a waiter. 

"In the mood for some pizza?" Koushirou asked. 

"I don't mind, but aren't these places kind of expensive? I don't have _that_ much extra money on me." 

"No big deal, let's go. I will pay." 

The two walked in and were led to a booth and given a menu. The two ordered a couple of colas and decided to share a deep dish extra cheese pizza, although Koushirou could eat an entire one to himself. The two were now waiting around for their order. 

"I can't believe that rude lady!" Mimi complained. "Insulting us like that!" 

"Yeah, I know! Just to think, she is supposed to be _our _role model and mentor since she is our elder! I wonder what she has against children anyway?" 

"I don't know, but it was really nice how Keisuke-san came back and defended us too. I wonder if his brother, Toru, is the same way..." 

"What is _with_ you and Toru-san?" 

"So, how should you show off your presentation?" Mimi asked, changing the subject abruptly again. 

"I don't know. I really hadn't given it much thought. I _guess_ a Power Point presentation'll be okay. Something nice and simple to tamper with." 

"But don't you need pictures for that?" 

"Yes, but I am bound to find something." 

The two were quiet once again, until Mimi broke the silence. 

"Um, Koushirou-kun...you never _did_ tell me what happened yesterday with the sargeant," she said, feeling a bit nervous. 

"I didn't think that you would want to get into that." 

"You're right, I don't, but I feel that I should know." 

"If you say so," he sighed. 

Koushirou started to run his hand through his short, spiky hair, trying to think of where to start his story. 

"Well, Lieutenant Tsuya came over to my place yesterday instead of Sargeant Manabu. He was way too busy to show up. Luckily, my folks still weren't around..." 

"Why is that lucky?" 

"Because they don't know that I know, remember? They don't know why or _where_ I went yesterday and I do not feel the need to tell them either." 

"Oh." 

"Anyway, all she did was talk about that reward that I specifically said I did not want any part of, but she kept insisting anyway. We also talked about the press and I asked her to remind them that whatever they write, to make us anonymous. I am sure you don't want something like that known all over school and I wouldn't want all of that attention either, but I really said it mainly because of you and your state. I feel that you should be able to talk about these kinds of things when you are ready, not by force...I know I would dislike it." 

"That was nice of you," the girl said slowly. 

"I wasn't sure what to do. I just felt that it would be better for you if we weren't mentioned." 

"How much was the reward?" 

"Huh?" 

Before Mimi could ask again, the waiter came back with their pizza and both of them thanked him. It was now a little after 7. The pizza took a while to cook and there was a lot of business that evening. After the waiter had walked off, Koushirou jumped right into it, but stopped abruptly. He wasn't sure how much Mimi ate and he knew that it would be impolite to eat first, even if he _was_ hungrier. 

"Here you go," he said, cutting off a slice for her and setting it down on her plate. 

"Thank you," Mimi said, surprised by his actions. She then started to eat on the slice he had cut for her. 

"No problem," he said in English. 

Koushirou put about four slices on his plate, which caused Mimi to sweat drop at the scene. 

"He has such a big apetite for such a small guy. He is like a garabage disposal! The weird thing about him is that he never seems to gain any weight," Mimi said to herself as she watched the boy consume the food. "Well, how much was the reward?" 

"If you _must_ know, it was $5,000 American. That's what I figured it out to be after converting it over to American currency." 

"That's quite a bit, but why did you waste the time to convert it over to American currency?" 

"I just needed something to do to get my mind off of everything, so I sat around and converted the amount to American currency; besides, it was good practice for me. That English exam of ours is coming up." 

"True." 

"I wonder why they changed the curriculum. We don't _normally_ get exams this time of the year." 

"It is even more unfair that only _our_ school district is going through this!" 

The girl had been eating on her one slice pretty slowly and she had quieted down a lot. For once in Koushirou's life, he noticed. Normally when it came to food, he tuned the rest of the world out. 

"Is something wrong?" 

"No, not really." She then frowned. "Just thinking about yesterday and about how guilty I feel." 

"Guilty?" Koushirou asked as he finished up his third slice and started on his fourth. "What for?" 

"For _not_ telling my aunt, mother, father, or uncle what happened. My aunt was so worried about me last night, she called my mother and she was talking to me." Mimi then sighed. "For once in my life, I am homesick for America. I wish my mother were here. I need her right now, my father too, but not as much as my mother." 

The girl was trying to keep herself from crying and Koushirou, who had just finished up his fourth slice of pizza and was about to cut himself a fifth, wasn't sure how to respond to Mimi's statement. Everything was just getting so difficult for him with her. He was starting to miss the good old days where they would only talk about fun things, even if he couldn't relate to everything she found fun and vice versa for her with his computer obession. 

"Well, um...what do _you_ want to do?" 

That was the best he could really come up with. 

"A part of me wants to tell them and then another part of me doesn't because they would worry and probably baby and shelter me, thinking that is a way of protecting me. I do _not_ want that; not again. My _own_ parents made _that_ mistake with me and look at all of the trouble it caused!" 

The boy could only shrug. He had _no _idea what the tan haired girl was talking about. 

"The,Digital World," she told him. "Our first time there." 

"Oh, that. Well, I don't think that should really count. None of us were prepared for such an adventure." 

Mimi finally finishing her first slice and was now cutting herself a second. 

"But it took me a longer time to grasp onto reality because of how sheltered I was! Moving back out here has given me that sense of independence and my aunt and uncle really believes in me when it comes to my independence, but if I tell them this, they'll probably start treating me like Isako or Ton who actually _needs_ to be watched over since they _are_ little kids." 

"I wouldn't worry about that. I know of your aunt and uncle and I don't think that they would try to keep you in the house just because something so unfortunate happened." 

"I guess..." 

Koushirou had just finished up his fifth slice and was ready for a sixth, but there was only one slice left. Mimi continued to eat on her second slice slowly. Koushirou wasn't sure if he should take the last slice or not, Mimi noticed. 

"Go ahead..." 

The boy smiled and took the last slice of pizza while Mimi continued to eat slowly on hers. 

"Arigatou!" 

The two continued to eat until they both finished. 

"Gochisosama," Mimi said while patting her stomach. "Oy, I'm full. I drank too much." 

*Note: Gochisosama is what one says after he/she finish his/her meal. It means, "That was a great meal," pretty much.* 

"Yeah, I'm full too," he lied. 

"Let's see," Mimi said while going through her purse, "how much was it..." 

"No problem, I said that I would pay." 

"No, it wouldn't be fair." 

"It is no problem...besides, I want to..." 

"That's nice of you. Thank you." 

The two stood up and Koushirou left the pay. The two then left the place to head on to their homes. They took a taxi back and got dropped off in front of Mimi's place. It was almost 8:00. Koushirou paid the cab fare and hopped out of the taxi. 

Right at the front door of the Nishimura home was Miyako and Sora. They had just knocked on the door and were let in by Mrs. Nishimura, who was getting a bit worried that Mimi wasn't home. Miyako and Sora then heard a car pulling up and looked through the open window, seeing two familiar figures getting out of it. 

"Is that Mimi-chan?" Sora asked. 

"It looks like it," Miyako said, trying to get a better look. 

The two watched Koushirou and Mimi as they talked. 

"I'm sorry that we didn't find out all that you wanted today." 

"That's all right," Koushirou said. "Like you said earlier, we learned a lot from Mitsuishi-san." 

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" 

::RP cues the Pinky & the Brain theme:: 

"The same thing I try to do _every_ night, Mimi-san...try to take over Microsoft!" 

"Huh?" Mimi asked while looking around. "Where is that music and bad singing coming from?" 

::RP does the cut thing to the throat which stops the music and she stops singing:: 

"Um, I mean the next school on our list." 

"Oh-kay," Mimi said, still trying to recover from the bad singing. "Anyway, do we go tomorrow after school?" 

"If you want. We can take the bus there tomorrow. It would be quicker that way." 

"Okay." 

The two stood there for a while in silence. 

"Well, I guess this is good night," Koushirou said awkwardly. 

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow in school and let's talk during lunch." 

The boy nodded. 

"I will meet you in the computer lab," she informed him. "How is that?" 

"Sure thing." 

The girl then started to walk backwards towards her door and waved at Koushirou. 

"Thank you for dinner!" she called out. 

"No problem!" he called back. "If you would like, we could go out again tomorrow, my treat. You can also choose the place if you would like!"   
****   
Back in the house... 

"_Dinner_!?!" the two girls asked in unison. 

"They went out on a _date_!?!" Miyako asked. 

Right at that moment, Mrs. Nishimura walked back in. 

"Did you girls mention something about a date?" she asked. 

"Oh, no! We were just trying to..." 

"...think up suitable dates for Sora-san for her upcoming Senior's Dance this Friday!" 

"I really hate the fact that Mimi is coming home so late," Sué said, not really listening to the two. "Well, I know that it isn't _late_ but she normally _always _tell me or Kichibei where she is going and when she is coming back. This is definitely _not_ like her, but I guess it is okay since you two said she was hanging out with her friend, Koushirou." 

"Well, Mimi-chan is here," Sora told her. "She's on her way in now."   
****   
"Sure, okay!" Mimi called back to Koushirou. "See you tomorrow at lunch!" 

The girl smiled a little and walked into the house to face an exasperated aunt, a curious Sora, and a nosy Miyako. 

"Oh, so you _finally_ decided to come home," Sué said sternly. 

"Obachan, gomen nasai!" she apologized. "I lost track of the time! I didn't mean to worry you!" 

"Mimi-chan, with you living here you have to realize that your uncle and me are responsible for your well being and safety. It is very important that we know where you are going to be." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

"I know that you have never done this before so I am going to let it slide, but promise me that you will _never_ do that again. If you are going to be late coming home, call and let me or your uncle know. School let out over four hours ago and you are just getting home!" 

"Yes, ma'am." 

"I am just glad that Miyako and Sora came over and told me that you were hanging out with your friend, Koushirou. But it still would have been nice to hear that from you." She gave Mimi a hug and smiled at her. "I am just glad that you are home. My brother would never forgive me if I let something happen to his little girl." 

With that, the woman left the three to converse. Mimi invited the two up to her room where they all talked...   
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Comments

Note: Hey everyone. I did not find that Einstein quote on my own. We must all thank Guardianmon for passing that quote on to me. I would like to thank them very much for it. I agree entirely that, _that_ quote describes Koushirou _per_fectly! He is no "genius." He has always just been curious about things, which is what makes him knowledgable since he always tries his best to find out all that he can about whatever it is he is curious about. Thanks again, Guardianmon. ^_^ 


	16. Mysterious Misayoshi!

Hey again everyone. Thanks goes out once again to Guardianmon for the Einstein quote and thank you all for the comments and reviews. The best part about writing anything is getting feedback from you readers. ^_^ 

How did you all like Keisuke? I admit it, he is a mirror image of me, only a male, Japanese version of it. lol Clumsy, forgetful, and not able to do what I want to do career wise, but that's not my parents' fault, oh, and I don't have any siblings like Keisuke. I'm an only child. 

Oh, just to let you all know, the names I am using for these siblings, parents, etc., have all been original names so far. Miyako's three sibs _are_ named Mantarou, Momoe, and Chizuru; Koushirou's parents _are_ named Yoshie & Masami; Taich's parents for the beginning of this part, Sora's father, Mimi's parents, etc. It's everyone else that's being made up as I go along, which includes Koushirou's biological parents. 

Oh, a reminder, anything with a "*" by it means there is some kind of a note about it at the end of the part. I _would_ link it, but seems like ff.net doesn't allow me to anymore. :Shrugs: Now as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated with the game, manga, show, etc.   
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Part 16: Mysterious Misayoshi!

Mimi finally told Miyako and Sora what had happened with her "attacker" and about everything else that had been going on dealing with Koushirou, minus the part about her hugging and kissing him of course. They were both surprised to find that Koushirou was adopted and had kept in that secret for so long. But as Sora had pointed out, it never came up in conversation for him to even _bother_ mentioning it. 

After all of their serious discussions, Miyako started to grill Mimi about the dinner thing with Koushirou. She wanted to know what was going on with those two, but Mimi, with a nervous blush, assured her that it was nothing. 

It was now the next day and everyone was getting ready for school. Taichi had tried calling Sora the previous night to ask what it is he has been trying to ask her for a long while now, but chickened out completely. He was just going to talk casually with Sora, but when Taichi called, her mother told him Sora wasn't home. Both Sora and Miyako stayed over night at Mimi's. Mrs. Takenouchi failed to mention _that_ to Taichi when he called, her being over at Mimi's or her staying the night, which didn't bother him _too_ much since he was too chicken to ask Sora his question anyway, yet it still bothered him because he _couldn't_ talk with Sora. The poor boy is so mixed up. ^^ 

We now join the Yagami family at breakfast... 

Mrs. Yagami was in the kitchen frying some eggs and making toast for Hikari and Taichi who were arguing over who gets the bathroom first, while Mr. Yagami sat down at the table to smoke a cigarette. 

"Oh no, not again!" Mrs. Yagami sighed as she flipped the eggs over. "Those two _always_ argue over the bathroom!" 

"Seems they would have learned to get along by now," Mr. Yagami said while lighting up. 

"Susumo," Mrs. Yagami asked, hand on hip, "_must_ you smoke every morning?" 

"Yuuko, you know it helps to relieve me of my stress before heading off for work." 

"I don't sit around smoking before _I_ go out for the day," she said, pouring out a couple of glasses of juice. "What stress could _you_ possibly have this early in the morning?" 

Mr. Yagami took a puff of his cigarette and smiled at his wife. 

"For one, listening to our children arguing over the bathroom again." 

"I know you can think of something better than _that_!" the woman smiled. 

"Okay," he smirked, trying to come up with a better excuse. "How about this. Ever since you stopped me from having a beer in the morning." 

*"That's because you don't know how to drink _just_ one! You don't know how weird you act when you are drunk and it doesn't take much for you _to_ get drunk! Unfortunately, the kids and I _do_ know how you act when you are drunk!" The woman handed her husband a cup of juice. She then called out, "Kids, breakfast is ready!" 

Taichi and Hikari walked in and took their seats. 

"Hey kids," their father greeted. 

*"Ohayou, otousan, kaasan," both Hikari and Taichi greeted back. 

Mrs. Yagami set down a plate for the both of them and a glass of juice, both thanking her of course. Hikari ate her breakfast the way she would usually, but Taichi wasn't. He seemed a bit depressed. 

"Is something wrong, son?" Mr. Yagami asked as he put out his cigarette. "You barely touched your food." 

"Yeah, you are up and ready for school earlier than usual too," Mrs. Yagami sain in concern. "You're _actually_ on time!" The woman started to feel Taichi's forehead. "You aren't getting sick now, are you?" 

"I'm fine, mom!" the boy said with a forced smile. "You worry too much." 

"Did you ever talk with Sora-san?" Hikari asked as she drank down her juice. 

He shook his head. 

"I got off the phone for _no_thing then?!" 

"She wasn't home when I tried to call her last night," Taichi explained. "It's not my fault." 

The family continued to eat their breakfast, until they heard a knock at the front door. Hikari got up quickly. 

"I'll get it," the girl said as she rushed to answer it. 

Hikari got up and answered the door. It was Daisuke and the song *_Adventure Heart_ started to play. 

Everyone starts to look around in confusion. 

"Hey, where is that music coming from?" Hikari asked. 

"I don't know," Daisuke said as he started to bop his head to the tune, "but I like it!" 

"Wow!" Hikari exclaimed as she looked down at her watch. "You're _right_ on time!" 

"Yeah, I decided to actually _use_ my alarm clock for a change!" 

Mr. & Mrs. Yagami laughed a bit at Daisuke's statement. They found it cute. Taichi just sat there and played with his now cold breakfast. 

"What brings you by, Daisuke?" Mrs. Yagami asked as she walked up to the door. 

"I'm going to walk Hikari-chan to school today!" 

"Yeah, we are going to meet up with both Iori-kun and Takeru-kun when we get there, probably," Hikari said while getting her backpack. "We are trying to think of what we can do for our Spring Break. We already took our class trip to Kyoto which was really fun." 

"Yeah, now I know why Miyako liked it so much," Daisuke nodded. 

"I'm sure that Iori-kun will like it too when he gets the chance to go with his class in a couple of years." 

"Kyoto has a lot of legend and history behind it. You can learn a lot about our history by going to Kyoto," Mr. Yagami said. "When I was in school, us last year Elementary students took our trip to Nara instead of Kyoto. Either way, both places are loaded with history." 

"That's nice, dad, but we have to get going. We don't want to be late." 

The girl stepped into her shoes, ready to leave. 

"You know, Daisuke-kun, you can walk me to school every morning if you'd like, that is if you can actually _be_ on time!" 

"I don't mind since it _is_ on my way anyway! Besides, it's fun walking to school. It's better than riding the boring old city bus." 

The two kids left and headed on to school. Mrs. Yagami noticed that Taichi still hadn't eaten much. 

"Honey, if you want, you can stay home today." 

"He can't, Yuuko," Mr. Yagami informed her. *"Remember their school district is trying out these new exam schedules for all of the Junior High Schools to see if it is better to give finals at this time of the year or either in July before their summer break." 

"That's right..." 

"Hikari and her other friends are lucky." 

"Elementary schools don't have testing anyway. I still wish Taichi could stay home from school today." 

"I am fine, you guys." 

"I'm not so sure," Mrs. Yagami told him. "What parts have you taken already?" 

"All of them, except for Japanese and Science. This is the last day anyway. These kinds of tests only last three days." Taichi stood up and finished up the rest of his juice. "I better get going, I don't want to be late." 

The boy grabbed his uniform jacket and ran out the door, still wondering why Sora had been so busy lately. He was starting to get the impression that she was avoiding him... 

"I still think that it is too much pressure on the students, all of this testing," Mr. Yagami said after Taichi had left. "I mean, they are carrying on like a normal school week! They are going a full day, having regular classes, and _still_ have to take these tests. Normally, regular classes are cancelled for exams. It is worse enough they had to take them this past July." 

"At least they don't count at a major part of their grade." 

"They don't?" he asked. 

"Well, the students don't know that," Mrs. Yagami informed him. "If they did, they probably wouldn't take these tests too seriously. Don't you think?" 

"Good point, but I still think it is stressful enough on the seniors who were worrying about High School entrance exams and wondering if they got accepted or not and then their own graduating ceremonies." 

"They are really just tests to see how much they know, only this test won't count as much. I think they get a bit of extra credit, nothing major. It _was_ bad that they just sprung this on them. Normally school activities are cancelled a week before the exams so that one could concentrate on studying for their tests, not the week _of_ the exams." 

"At times like this, I am _so_ glad I am no longer a child!" Mr. Yagami laughed. After he finished his drink, he stood up and gave his wife a quick hug. "Well, I better get going. It's getting late." 

"Okay, see you later! I'll lock up."   
****   
The Izumi household... 

Koushirou had already left for school. He had gotten into a terrible argument with his parents after he had gotten home that night and skipped breakfast that morning to avoid having to see them. Something that neither of them had ever faced. Koushirou normally got along with his parents very well; so well that other parents would comment on how well the Izumis got along together. It was the "perfect family" to some people. The perfect housewife/mother, the perfect working husband, and the perfect son who never got into any trouble. 

Mr. & Mrs. Izumi got compliments all the time about how they had the perfect son and to them, it was pretty much true. They never really had any problems with Koushirou. He was very well behaved and really appreciated them. Too bad things hadn't been like that lately. The argument was pretty much over Koushirou's secrecy. The Izumis had also found out that Koushirou had lied about where he had been on Sunday... 

"What are we going to do with that boy of ours?" Mr. Izumi sighed while sipping on a cup of tea. 

"I don't know," Mrs. Izumi frowned. "He's just been so _se_cretive lately. He didn't even tell us where he had been all afternoon and most of the evening yesterday after he came home and he missed breakfast this morning!" 

"Where did we go wrong with him? He has no _right_ not letting us know where he is going or where he has been!" 

"It just upsets me that he _lied_ to us!" Mrs. Izumi said while wiping away a few of her tears with a handkerchief. "He has _never_ lied to us before!" 

"Yeah." 

"I want to know _where_ he was on Sunday! I talked with Yuuko-san yesterday afternoon and we got on the subject of the children and all of the testing they are going through and I brought up how Koushirou talked about how him and the others studied over there all day Sunday. She then said that Taichi and Hikari as well as most of the other children were at a party and that she hadn't seen Koushirou in the longest time." The woman lowered her head. "I wonder if it is because of my pregnancy..." 

"No! Stop thinking like that! It is _not_ the pregnancy. He is just being very inconsiderate towards me as well as towards you! You should _not_ blame your being pregnant for Koushirou's unusual, secretive, grumpy moods lately." 

"But he was fine before we told him last week!" the woman said, crying more. "He has been acting weird ever since then!" 

"No he hasn't. You are exaggerating. He has been acting strangely ever since about Saturday or Sunday." 

"It is still close to when we told him were going to have a baby!" 

The woman quieted down and cried a bit more. She then muttered, "Maybe I shouldn't _have_ the baby if it'll make him happy again..." 

Mr. Izumi looked at his wife in surprise from her statement. She wasn't truly serious, but she _did_ wonder how Koushirou would react if she were to just walk up to him one day and say that she wasn't going to have a baby. 

"_Yoshie_! How could you even _consider_ such a thing!?! That baby is part mine too and I know that you really want this baby as well and as much as _I_ do! Probably even more! You love children just as much as I do! Koushirou is the child of this home and we are the ones taking care of him. We make the rules and just because he may not fathom the idea of having a younger brother or sister, does not mean we have to change our ways for him! It is _not_ supposed to be that way! Whatever we say, goes!" 

"But..." 

"Yoshie, I am afraid that we will have to," the man paused slightly, "_ground_ him. His behaviour hasn't been all that acceptable lately. We should take a firmer hand with him." 

"Oh, Masami, do we _have_ to?" the woman asked, hoping for an alternate choice. "We've never had to _ground_ him before. He has always been so well mannered and behaved." 

"Yoshie, we don't have much of a choice. He has to learn that there are rules in this home that everyone has to follow, him included. He also should not lie to us like he has. After school today, we will both tell him that for the rest of the week, he is to come _straight_ home from school unless he is doing school work. He has to learn to respect us! We have spoiled him. Since he is a teenager now, he probably thinks that he can get away with anything that he wants." 

Mrs. Izumi nodded in agreement. She knew he was right, but she still hated the idea of actually _punishing_ Koushirou, just as her husband, but then again, what parent _doesn't_ dislike having to punish their child?   
****   
The school day went by like it would usually and it was now time for everyone to go home. Mimi noticed something a bit different about her usual group of close friends. They were all giving her looks like they wanted her to tell them something. The look was the most noticeable on Yuko, though. Mimi could only shrug to them though. She had no idea what they could've wanted. 

Mimi missed lunch with her usual group of friends and joined Koushirou in the computer lab. Surprisingly, talking with Koushirou more didn't bother her too much. It was better than hearing Yuko and Ayame's current boy report that she had no interest in what-so-ever or Chinatsu's obsession with Volleyball and sports in general, not that, that was a bother. Mimi knew that Chinatsu took her sports seriously, especially Volleyball, and hopes to go pro someday. 

Mimi also enjoyed talking with Koushirou because of what happened that past Sunday. It still bothered her tremendously, just like it did Koushirou, both were just trying their best to hide it, but it never worked. They both ended up getting their feelings out, sort of, on the situation which sometimes involved Mimi crying a bit. It was a good way to relieve all of the tension that the both of them had been holding in, Koushirou especially, since, other than her, he hadn't talked to anyone about what had happened, but he still didn't say much. He was still holding everything in and Mimi was doing the majority of the talking. It was like he didn't want to show any emotion, something Koushirou had had a problem with as far back as Mimi and their other friends could remember. He always acted as if nothing ever bothered him and he would just allow himself to get preoccupied with something else, like the computer. Mimi talked with Sora and Miyako and that made her feel a lot better, but she still hadn't gotten over what had happened completely. No one really does... 

On her way to the lab, she ran into her four admirers. All four them apologized to her and wanted to apologize to "Izumi" for the trouble they "caused yesterday." Mimi was glad for this and both her and Koushirou accepted their apologies. Mimi noticed that they were acting a bit differently too around the both of them; _especially_ Yuuji and Misao. They were trying their best to impress her, while Ukyo and Seki did nothing of the sort. They just said bye to Koushirou and Mimi and left, leaving Yuuji and Misao to show off, by flexing their muscles and singing. Mimi shooed them away nicely, though, to continue talking with Koushirou. 

Both Mimi and Koushirou had discussed their plans for that afternoon and they were now ready to head on to Tokyo U. They were waiting for the bus now at the bustop near their school... 

Right now, Mimi was talking with her uncle on her cell phone... 

"Ojisan...yes, I am still working on that school project, only we have to go to Tokyo University...I know I should be studying for those tests, but tomorrow is our last day and I am taking my English and Music part, my two easiest subjects...Why do I have to go?...Because Koushirou's parents graduated from there...Yeah, just like yesterday and the day before, I may be a bit late...Can you tell Aunt Sué for me...I tried but she hasn't gotten home yet with Isako and Ton...Okay, thanks...Love you, bye." 

The girl put her cell phone back into her book bag. After yesterday with her aunt, she didn't want to upset or worry her or her uncle anymore so she decided that she should call and let them in on what was going on, although she still hadn't told them about Odaiba University and of her unfortunate mishap. 

"I never thought that I would go to a college while still in Junior High," Mimi laughed. 

"Yeah..." Koushirou said in a distant manner. 

"What's wrong?" Mimi asked, noticing the tone in his voice. 

"Nothing!" he snapped. 

"Doesn't _sound_ like nothing is wrong! You don't _normally_ snap at people when nothing is wrong!" Mimi argued. 

"Sorry! _Okay_?!?" 

Mimi backed off and decided to leave him alone as the bus pulled up. The both of them got on and headed on to one of the most well known colleges in Japan, Tokyo University. A college that is _also_ a good ways away from Odaiba in general. It took them almost 40 minutes to get there by bus due to a lot of traffic. 

Koushirou was just cross because he thought of how upset he had gotten with his parents, although he was more upset at himself _for_ getting upset with them. He really believed in the, "Never bite the hand that feeds you," logic. He then remembered the secret that they were keeping from him, which made him a bit sore at them. He was also very upset after his mother mentioned Sunday and wanting to know where he really was. That also made him upset having to actually _think_ about what had happened that day. He still blamed himself for what happened, somewhat. 

He just had a lot on him currently and he just blew up, just like he had at Ms. Anje at Odaiba University, only he didn't say anything disrespectful, mainly because he didn't hate them. He may dislike the things that they do, like keeping his adoption a secret from him, but he doesn't dislike them. As a matter of fact, he loved them very much and really _did_ appreciate everything that they did for him. He was just acting like a moody teen, they thought, when it was really from all of the tension that was building up in Koushirou. He just had to find a way to release it, and unfortunately, it was on his parents. 

Mimi noticed that Koushirou had gotten a lot quieter during their ride. As the ride went on, Koushirou was still pretty alert and knew _exactly_ when and where to get off. 

"Here we are, Tokyo U," Koushirou announced as if nothing had been wrong. 

"Wow, this place is huge too!" 

"Let's try not to get lost this time." 

"Right!" 

The two entered the school, making sure not to get themselves lost. Koushirou had printed out a map of the school before leaving the computer lab earlier. He was looking for the school library this time. Too bad he misread the map and got lost anyway. 

They asked a student that was just walking by where it was, and she told them where to go. When they entered the library, they stared and looked around in amazement. The place was really exquisite and seemed to hold every book known to man. Even _Mimi_ thought the library was impressive and she wasn't much of a reader, except for when it came to Teen Magazines or catalogs. She only went to the library whenever she had a school project to work on. 

"Where do we start looking," Mimi asked, still looking in amazement at the giant library. 

"I figured that we can look up the news article here and find an old school annual or yearbook." 

"Okay, but where do we start looking for a year book?" 

"I don't know, but I am going to look for that news article." 

"I'll come along with you. I'm curious about this article too." 

The two walked up to the librarian. It was a nice old lady who had a very nice smile. Koushirou explained to her about wanting to use the Microfilm Projector to look up an old news article. Luckily, they had articles dating back to 1990. They had ones older than that as well. As for the yearbooks, the librarian didn't have access to them since they were all locked away and she didn't have the key on her. The only way she could get them was if one of the teachers or students on the yearbook or journalism staff were to show up since they always had access to such things. 

"Let's go through these," Koushirou said, his arms filled with lots of microfilm reels. "I'm sure we are bound to find the article." 

"Hey, wait. Didn't Mitsuishi-san say that it happened in April of 1990?" Mimi asked as the two headed towards the Microfilm Projector. 

"Yeah, why?" he asked while loading up the film. 

"Um, we _could_ just narrow down your search by just looking up articles from April of 1990 and it will be a _lot_ quicker." 

"I was thinking about doing that too, but without the actual article name, this is all we have to go on," Koushirou told her. "Besides, these _are_ all of the articles for April of 1990." 

"Oh, that's quite a bit." 

"We are going to be here for a while," Koushirou sighed as he started to go through the film. 

Those were the words Mimi _didn't _want to hear. She just knew that she was going to get bored. 

While Koushirou was looking around for that article, Mimi got back up and asked the librarian if anyone had shown up yet that could get her access to the yearbooks. She figured that it would be a lot easier to find someone's photo in a year book than for an article. The librarian shook her head. Before Mimi could respond, someone walked up holding a large pile of books. Mimi couldn't even see the person since the person was holding so many books. 

"Did somebody say they needed to get to the yearbooks and the annuals, Toshokan-san?" the voice from behind the large stack of books asked. 

"Yeah, this girl needs some yearbooks for something her and her friend are working on." 

After the boy put set the large stack of books on the counter, he got a better look at the girl and smiled at her. 

"Mimi-kun?" 

"Shuu-san?" Mimi asked, getting a better look at the boy. 

It was the soon to be 22-year-old Kido brother, Shuu. Jou's older brother who took up studying Japanese Folklore instead of medical sciences to become a doctor, like his older soon to be *26-year-old, brother Shin. 

Mimi didn't know Shuu too well, not like she did Shin. For one, when she had first met Shin, it was when they came back from the Digital World and Vamdemon was searching for the Eighth Child. Shuu wasn't around because he was away on a Summer Class Trip and even after everything dealing with the Digital World and that three years when nothing was going wrong dealing with the Digital World--other than the stuff with Diablomon--before Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori became Chosens, Shuu still stayed away from home a lot compared to Shin. I guess you could call Shuu the "independent" brother of the three. 

Now-a-days, it was rare seeing him at all. He was still a student at Tokyo U and he was still studying Japanese Folklore and traveling a lot on special assignments, like the time Miyako met him while on her class trip to Kyoto a couple of years earlier. 

"Hey there, what are you doing here?" 

"Koushirou and me are working on a project and I need a yearbook. Are you on the yearbook or journalism staff?" 

"Nope, I am afraid not." 

"Aww..." 

"But Takenouchi-hakase can. He is head of the Journalism department." 

" Cool! Can we go see him?" 

"Sure, just let me drop these books off first," he told her. "Here you go, ma'am." 

"My, you had a lot of books this week," the woman smiled. 

"Yeah, I was just brushing up on the different legends and stories told in other parts of Japan and also legends and folklore from the Western Hemisphere." 

"Like in America?" 

"Yep," he said with a nod. "Some of the legends told in North America are quite interesting as well, but South America is even more interesting. I should look into more of them sometime." 

After he put the books away, Mimi left along with him to meet up with Professor Takenouchi. 

"Hey, how is Jou doing? I haven't talked to him in a while." 

"I am afraid that I really haven't either. He is always studying." 

"Just like Shin-niisan," he laughed. "When we were kids, he was always studying. What got me was how he always went to cram school to further his knowledge. He was serious about becoming a doctor, like dad wanted. I was too, but I didn't go to those extra classes and such like he or Jou did. I was never much of a school person." 

"You know, I _did_ see Jou-senpai a few nights ago. We all went to a karaoke bar." 

"I never knew Jou liked to sing." 

"Neither did we." She smiled. "He totally surprised us when he sang along with the others. He sang very well." 

It didn't take them long, but they finally arrived at Takenouchi's office. He was talking with another person, so they decided to wait until he was finished. 

"C'mon, Haruhiko!" they heard a man say. "You should relax some." 

"No, I can't go with you and the guys on that trip," Professor Takenouchi said while sorting through some papers. 

"But you and Kido were going on another one of your trips to do some research and you two were going to Nara this time, so why can't you come with us to England next week." 

"Nara is one thing, at least I am still in Japan, but going to England for some sports event is another. If I went to England, I would not be able to get back in time to see my daughter's graduating ceremonies from Odaiba Junior High. That is more important to me right now. I rarely see her as it is now due to work and my constant traveling. I could never forgive myself for taking such a trip that wasn't work related unless I took my daughter along." 

"Okay, but you are going to be sorry that you are going to be missing out." 

"Then I will be sorry." 

The man walked out of the office, who was a another teacher of the school, and greeted Shuu and Mimi who politely greeted him back. After he left, both Shuu and Mimi walked into Takenouchi's office who was looking over some notes. When he heard them walk in, he looked up from his notes. 

"Ahh, Shuu, hello there." The man then noticed the girl standing beside him. "Mimi?" 

"Hello, Mr. Takenouchi." 

"Hi there!" the man greeted, standing up. "What brings you to Tokyo U?" 

Takenouchi Haruhiko, Sora's middle-aged father, was a professor of Japanese Folklore at Tokyo University. Because of his lectures, Shuu transferred to learning about Folklore since it had interested him a lot, even if his father _did_ disapprove of him doing so since he wanted all three of his sons to become medical doctors since it was a tradition of the Kido family dating back to the Edo period. So far, two out of the three were still interested in getting into the medical field. Shuu was one of Takenouchi's best students, which is pretty much why he allowed Shuu to accompany him on his trips. 

"I need a yearbook or an annual from 1985. Our class is working on this project on our parents and we have to get information on them, so me and Koushirou are here because of his parents. His parents graduated from here in 1985." 

"Sure, I don't mind helping," Mr. Takenouchi said. "So the Izumis went to school here? I never knew that." 

"They sure are young looking to have graduated from _here_ in 1985," Shuu said. 

Mimi thought for a moment. She wondered if the Izumis were younger than Koushirou's biological parents. 

"Mimi, how is Sora doing? I haven't seen her in so long because of all of this work of mine." 

"She is doing great! I see and talk to her all the time. She is really looking forward to her senior graduation activities that are coming up and she is happy because she got accepted into Odaiba High. I know I would be excited too! I can't wait until I graduate!" 

"That's good. I hope I can get the time off to go to all of her ceremonies. She has a sports one to attend also." The man started to go through his pocket. "Oh, yeah, you wanted the year books, here you go..." 

Mr. Takenouchi gave Shuu his key so that he could get the yearbooks for Mimi. When they got back to the library, Mimi saw that Koushirou was still trying to find the article about his parents' deaths. She got the yearbooks dating from 1980-1985 and looked through them. Shuu offered to help her look, but she told him that she would be fine, so he left and went to talk with Professor Takenouchi about the upcoming trip to Nara. 

*Mimi looked through all of the books through the class activities and found a lot about Koushirou's father. He played on the Soccer team as the goalie, he was in the Debate Club, and he was also in the Computer Club. He was in a fraternity as well. Mimi saw that Mr. Fukami was _very_ popular. She also noticed that he was a handsome man. 

He had dark brown hair, an average height, plain, dark eyes, and average looking in weight. Mimi was trying to see what of him reminded her of Koushirou. So far, Koushirou's current hair length and his dark, plain eyes, reminded her of Mr. Fukami. Koushirou's current height also reminded her of Mr. Fukami from the photos she was seeing of him. The fact that he was in the Computer Club also reminded her of Koushirou. The only thing that didn't match with the two was Mr. Fukami's popularity. Koushirou was nowhere _near_ popular. People just knew of him. 

When Mimi got up to 1985, she saw that there were two top students of that graduating class listed, Fukami Hiroaki and Misayoshi Miki. There was a photo of Mr. Fukami, but there was no photo available for Ms. Misayoshi. It was pretty odd. There wasn't one single photo of her for any of the yearbooks. 

"Maybe she hated taking photos," Mimi muttered. 

The girl got up and decided to show Koushirou what she had found, which was a lot more interesting than looking through newspaper articles. She enjoyed looking at how strangely everyone dressed back in those days. 

When she got over to where he was, he had _just_ found the article he was looking for. He, somehow, obtained a copy of the article for his own personal use. He decided to read over it entirely later. He didn't want to depress himself any. He was pretty pleased with Mimi's work and thanked her. They got all of the information they needed from the yearbooks and left Tokyo U, not having any problems. 

Koushirou offered to take Mimi out to dinner again, so Mimi accepted the offer. The thing that surprised her, though, was that the place Koushirou decided to go to was a bit fancier than the pizza parlor. Koushirou was in the mood for Chinese, so he says. Chinese was one of Mimi's favorites, next to Italian; pizza _is_ Italian ya know! For some odd reason, Koushirou just couldn't explain why he wanted to do nice things for Mimi or take her to nice places. He just wanted to. 

After their dinner, they both headed home. The last place on their list was Odaiba Elementary. The closest of all of the places they had to go. They decided to go by afterschool the next day.   
****   
Mimi, who had just gotten off of the phone with Sora, was now sitting in the tub, taking a bath, thinking about how nice Koushirou had been to her lately and how grateful she was that this project was almost over. 

"This is so nice and relaxing." 

She sank down deeper into the bubble filled tub, feeling truly relaxed. 

"I am _so_ glad we are almost finished with all of this! I hope he appreicates what I am doing for him!" She then sighed, still trying to figure out they way he had been acting lately. "He offered to take me out to dinner again. I wonder why..." 

After her bath, she got up, dried off, and headed on to bed. She just couldn't wait for the week to end...   
******************************************************************************************************************************************* 

Comments

Note 1: Hey everyone. It is true, the Yagami father _does_ drink. As a matter of fact, they cut a scene out of the dub movie, the first part of the movie with seven-year-old Taichi and four-year-old Hikari, when he came home drunk, trying to get into Taichi's room. 

Oh, here is another tidbit of information for you. The first part of the movie where everyone lived in Hikarigaoka (Heighton View Terrace), takes place in 1995 and Hikari _rarely_ spoke for it. She was a late talker, I suppose, that's what her whistle was for.   
***   
Note 2: The phrase "Ohayou, otousan, kaasan," pretty much means, "Good morning, father, mother..." I notice that the Yagami kids call them that, even though the full word for mother is, "okaasan," for those of you who don't know, but both Hikari and Taichi uses "kaasan." Guess you could say the same thing for Takeru and Hikari with their brothers. Hikari uses, "oniichan" with Taichi, and Takeru uses "oniichan" when he was his 01 age, but uses "niisan" when addressing Yamato when he is older.   
***   
Note 3: Adventure Heart is the name of Daisuke's instrumental theme. There are two versions of it. I just prefer the first version, _Adventure Heart~Daisuke no theme~_ to the second, _Adventure Heart~Daisuke no theme~ #2_ because it is faster. It's a favorite of mine. 

I like everyone's instrumental themes, actually, although I never cared for _Blue Faith~Jou no theme~_, even though I _did_ like the way it was played in the ep where the kids were hitch hiking to get home to Odaiba from Shinjuku. It was in the station when Gomamon grabbed that, whatever it was, from that lady and Joe screamed here, "Bad dog!" and ran off. I noticed it playing in the background, only it sounded like it was a piano like theme. I wonder if anyone else who has seen the original ep that is music oriented like me, has ever noticed that... 

Another theme I never cared for was _Little Brightness~Takeru no theme~_, his first season instrumental, even though it is pretty cute. BTW, the older kids don't have instrumentals for the second season, only Takeru and Hikari do from the old group.   
***   
Note 4: Here is some information for everyone. The Japanese School year is a bit different, which has already been pointed out and mentioned. They go all year around, April - March. 

The Japanese school year is also broken up into three quarters: 

April - July   
September - December   
January - March 

Even though the Japanese school year ends towards the last couple of weeks in March, they do not have their Final exams until the July before their Summer break, even though after their break, they're coming back and are in the same grade. Where as for us, when we take _our_ Final exams, it's normally right before the school year ends, which allows us to go to the next grade. During the rest of the year, they take "End-of-term" exams. They take their Midterms in May and then their Finals that upcoming July. I couldn't handle that! >_ 

Apparently, the End-of-term exams and the Midterms are more important and has more of a bearing than the actual Final exam. The reason for this is because the results of End-of-term and Midterm exams let's one know what grade they are getting for that particular class for that particular term. For the older Junior High students, it helps them to decide what High Schools they want to try to get into, basing their grades on what they got for their Midterms and End-of-term exams.   
***   
Note 5: I have _no_ idea what Shin's age is; I just decided to make him four years older than Shuu. I heard that he was five years older than Shuu and ten years older than Jou, but I am not so sure. I just know that he is the oldest of the three Kido brothers. 

I _do_ know for a fact that Shuu is five years older than Jou, though. The only reason I can keep up with Shuu's age is because of my own age and since I can keep up with Shuu's age, it makes it even easier to keep up with Jun's since she is three years younger than him, which makes it easy for me to keep up with Yamato, Sora, and Taichi's ages since all three of them are the same age and they are three years younger than her, and so forth. lol 

Oh, something else. I am not sure if Shuu uses "hakase" with Mr. Takenouchi or not. I never noticed. I am only assuming since he _is_ a professor and all that he would. The honorific -hakase, means doctor, but not necessarily a medical doctor. It can be used for teachers too meaning "professor." ^^ 

Something else, that stuff about the Edo period and the Kidos being doctors dating back that far is true.   
***   
Note 6: Sorry everyone. I have _no_ idea if four year colleges have year books or not. I have never been to one so I am improvising and making up everything as I go along. :-p So, if they don't, just go along with it. ^^' 


	17. The Jealous Hackers!

Sorry it took me such a while to get this up. Computer trouble again. Besides, I've been kind of busy too with school and work and all. I guess you all are wondering about the title. Well, the "hackers" of the Digimon group _are_ a tad bit jealous. Well, as always, I do not own anything dealing with Digimon in general, now on with this fic.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 17: The Jealous Hackers!

It was now Wednesday, March 17, 2004. Mimi was in better spirits as she headed towards her school. This was the last day of working on her and Koushirou's project that included actual traveling. Mimi didn't dislike working with Koushirou or anything, she would just rather do something else a bit more fun, like hanging out the way that they had without school work being involved. 

On her way, she ran into Taichi who was walking slower than usual. To Mimi, he also didn't seem to be his normal outgoing self. Of course she, being the nice person that she is, decided to greet her older friend and to see what was wrong. 

"Taichi-san!" 

He turned to see who had called him. 

"Oh, hey Mimi. What's up." 

The boy waited for Mimi to catch up to him. 

"Nothing much," she told him. "What's wrong?" 

"What makes you think something is wrong?" he asked with a forced smile, which Mimi didn't find all that convincing. 

"Because you are forcing on that smile of yours!" 

"Um, Mimi...do you have any idea what is going on with Sora?" Taichi asked, ignoring Mimi's statement. 

"Going on with her?" 

"Well, she seems really busy lately...like she's avoiding me or something." 

"That's silly. She's not avoiding you. Why would you think that?" 

"Because, like I said, it seems that whenever I want to talk to her or anything, she's too busy to," Taichi explained. "I can't even catch her at home. Like a couple of nights ago, I called and her mother said she was out." 

"Oh, that was because she probably stayed over at my place." 

"But why didn't she let me know it?" he asked. "Her mother could have told me _that_ at least." 

"Well, I don't think Sora-san is avoiding you. She, as well as everyone else, is very busy because of testing and you seniors getting ready for your graduation," she said with a smile. "I bet she didn't _mean_ to ignore you," she assured him. 

"Yeah, I guess..." 

"Why do I have this feeling that there is more to this?" 

"Probably because there is," he sighed. He then turned to face Mimi as they walked. "Do you know if Sora has a date for the upcoming dance yet?" 

"You know, she's never talked about it with me. I don't know if she does or not. My guess is no, though, since she hasn't mentioned anything about it yet." 

"Good, I just hope I'm not too late. I'm finally going to get the courage to do it!" The boy then posed as if he were super hero and spoke in a heroic like manner. "I _am_ the crest bearer of courage, you know." 

With that, the boy waved to Mimi and ran off. Mimi shrugged and walked on. She ran into her other friends who all greeted her good morning. She bumped into Sora when changing into her school shoes. 

"Konnichiwa, Sora-san!" 

"Mimi-chan, ohayou! What's up..." 

"Nothing much. I'm just glad that this project that Koushirou and me are working on is almost finished. Today should be our last day having to go any place." 

"That's good. After that, you can then go back to your normal schedule," Sora smiled. "Enjoying your last few days as an eighth grader!" 

"That's going to be kind of hard with all of these tests we are taking. I still don't get it. I have this strange feeling that they aren't really all that special." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Normally when they give big exams, they cancel extra activities and we don't have regular school days, but we're getting them during our normal class periods." 

"I never thought about it that way. You _could_ be right." 

"I hope I am, since I didn't study as much as I _should_ have," the girl said with a nervous grin. "Hey, are you going to that dance this Friday? That senior one?" 

"Yeah, I guess so. A few guys have asked me, but I sort of turned them down." 

"How come?" 

"Because the guy I actually _want_ to ask me hasn't yet." 

"Who do you _want_ to ask you to the dance?" 

"Well, a friend. I would feel more comfortable going with a close male friend than some of these other guys around here." 

"You mean like, I don' t know, Ya_ma_to-san or _Tai_chi-san?" 

"_Exactly_!" the girl said, blushing slightly. "Someone like those two." 

She wasn't being specific as to _whom_ she wanted to ask her but Mimi had an idea. The two then headed to the girls' restroom to freshen up. 

"So, how are things going with you and Koushirou-kun?" Sora asked as she looked herself over in the mirror. 

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked as she started to comb her long hair. "Like I said, this project is almost over and I'm glad!" 

"But you called me last night and told me about how he offered to take you out to dinner again." 

"Oh that?" The girl leaned her back against the tile bathroom walls. "Well, I'm just curious as to why he's doing it." 

"Go fig Koushirou-kun," the girl responded while messing with her short, shoulder-lengthened hair. "Who knows what is going on in that head of his. He could be doing it just to be nice." 

"Yeah, but _why_? He has never been this nice before." 

"Well, people _do_ grow up, Mimi-chan," Sora said as she clipped in two very familiar looking hair pins. "Maybe he finally has in the sociality department." 

"But he has always been a bit mature for his age." 

After Sora finished with her hair, the two left the restroom and started to walk down the hall. 

"But then again, maybe he _has_ grown up like you said." She then muttered, "I still think that what happened has a lot to do with it..." 

"He is one complex person, I don't think you should _bother_ trying to figure him out." The girl then laughed. "He's like a walking mystery!" 

"Yeah, you're probably right." 

"Ooh, it's almost time for homeroom. We better hurry up and get there." 

"Okay," Mimi agreed. "I'll talk with you later, Sora-san. I hope you get the date that you want soon." 

She hurried along to her homeroom and said hi to everyone like she would normally, Koushirou included, but he didn't say anything to her or greeted her back. She was surprised, but shrugged it off as their teacher entered the room. 

The day continued on like it would normally, only Mimi decided to eat lunch with her other group of friends instead of hanging out in the computer lab with Koushirou. She was getting very bad vibes from him and decided to leave him alone for a while, but she _was_ planning on talking with him eventually. Besides, she was feeling a little better about what happened Sunday and she didn't want her other friends to feel left out. Another reason was because she was a tad bit hungry today. 

While with her friends, Mimi saw Miyako who ran over to sit with them instead of with her usual group of friends. She said hi to Mimi quickly, but went over to Yuko, who started to discuss something that was obviously private. 

Yuko had called Miyako that previous night to see if she knew of "Mimi's secret." Miyako got the wrong idea, and thought she meant the _other_ secret. She never came right and said it, but when Yuko asked her if she knew of Mimi's secret, she said that she did. Yuko then started to blab about the kiss, thinking _that_ was what the secret was; her mishap at Odaiba University is what Miyako was thinking. Miyako then let Yuko know that, _that_ wasn't the secret that she was referring to and was shocked to hear that Mimi had kissed Koushirou. 

Miyako and Yuko eventually stopped talking amongst themselves and talked with the others at the table, including Seki, Yuuji, Ukyo, and Misao. After a while, Mimi got up and left and decided to head on to the computer lab. Their lunch break was going to be over eventually anyway. 

A short while after Mimi left, Yuko and Miyako left. They were curious as to what Mimi had planned for Koushirou this day. Miyako told Yuko that both Mimi and Koushirou had gone out to dinner together, like a date and the two were slowly putting two and two together, even if they _were_ wrong. The two were assuming that Mimi and Koushirou were secretly dating and was just using their project as an excuse to hang out alone together. Miyako was a little jealous over this, but didn't let it show. Neither Yuko nor Miyako had mentioned anything to Ayame, or Sora, or the other girls. 

While walking down the hall, they spotted Mimi and she was definitely heading towards the Student Computer Lab. Miyako knew this place just as well as Koushirou. She too hanged out there a lot. 

In the hall, Mimi walked into Yamato. She was standing right in front of the Computer Lab door. Yuko and Miyako were still keeping their distance, pretty much spying.   
****   
"Wow, it's Yamato-san of the Teen-Age Wolves! I wish I knew him personally!" 

Miyako shushed Yuko so that they wouldn't be heard. 

"Sorry," she apologized. 

"Anyway, what's there to know about him? He's just like any other ordinary guy."   
****   
"Oh, Yamato-san, hi!" Mimi greeted 

"Hey, Mimi!"   
****   
In the Computer Lab, Koushirou was sitting around doing absolutely nothing. He was wondering where Mimi was. He had to give her the depressing news about his being _groun_ded. He was shocked when he came home, planning on apologizing, when his parents had that discussion with him about how he was being punished. He knew not to disobey them any more than he had though and accepted it, even if he _was_ against it entirely. 

He felt that it was unfair that they were punishing him for keeping secrets when they did so themselves, and his secrets from them wasn't as important or significant as the one they were keeping from him. He _did_ feel that he deserved the punishment for the outburst he had had, that _was_ wrong of him, but he really wished that for once that they would be honest with him. 

He didn't get angry at them when they talked about punishing him, but he really _did_ hate the fact that they had such bad timing when deciding to ground him. 

Both of his parents were surprised at the way he had accepted his punishment. He was a lot calmer than when they had questioned his where-a-bouts earlier when he had blown up at them. As a matter of fact, when they asked Koushirou about his where-a-bouts once again, he refused to tell them in a calm, collected manner, making sure not to lose his temper. That's the main reason they went through with the punishiment because he had refused to tell them. 

Koushirou still didn't know whether or not he wanted to go to Odaiba Elementary or not. He _did_ promise to come straight home since that was a part of his punishment, as well as helping out with extra chores around the home, but he really wanted to know more about his biological mother. 

He knew so much about his father, he felt he could write a small biography on him, whereas for his mother, he would barely be able to write a paragraph about her. All he knew of her was that she grew up without a family, that he, apparently, resembled her a lot, and that she loved children. 

The boy started to read the article about his parents' deaths as he sat around, waiting for the lunch period to end... 

"Tragic Crash Takes the Lives of Odaiba Teachers..." he started. 

The boy sighed as he tried to read, but he just couldn't bring himself to and set the news article down. No matter how curious he was, he just couldn't bring himself to read beyond the title of the article. When he found it, the main thing that he was skimming for were their names. He saw that their names were in the first line and figured that, that was the article he was looking for. 

He was about to read again, until he heard voices outside of the computer lab door. 

"Mimi-san...Yamato-san?"   
****   
"I finally caught you. I've been looking around for you. I just came from the lunch room and your friends said that you were probably headed towards the computer lab..." 

"Is something wrong?" Mimi asked in concern. 

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong." 

"That's good," she said as she started to think back to Sunday. "One crisis is enough." 

"Crisis? What crisis?" 

"Well, it's not really a crisis, just a personal thing, nothing for you to worry about," Mimi assured him. "So, what's wrong?" 

"Well, I was just wondering..."   
****   
"Doesn't he have the most _beautiful_ eyes and the most _handsome_ face!" Yuko said with hearts in her eyes. 

"Oh brother," Miyako muttered.   
****   
"...if you were doing anything this Friday night." 

"This Friday night?" 

The boy nodded. 

"Yeah, if not, I was wondering if you would like to go to the Senior Dance."   
****   
"The dance?" Koushirou asked himself. "He is asking her to the dance?"   
****   
"The _Senior_ Dance!" Miyako said in surprise. 

"Lucky!" Yuko cried with streaked tears running down her face.   
****   
Mimi started to jump up and down excitedly at the actual idea of going to the Senior Dance. 

"Wow, the Senior dance! I was _just_ telling Shuu-san and Takenouchi-san how I can't _wait_ to become a senior! I was even looking through a catalog a while ago for an outfit to wear for my own upcoming dances for this upcoming school year!"   
****   
"She would actually _want_ to go to something like that?" 

Koushirou smacked his forehead in stupidity. 

"No duh! Mimi-san is the outgoing party person. Of _course_ she would want to go!"   
****   
"Wait, if she accepts his invite then what will Izumi-senpai think?" 

"Do you think we goofed assuming that the two were secretly dating?" 

"I think so," Miyako said. She then sighed out in relief and muttered in audibly, "Thank goodness..."   
****   
"But wait, I can't go to the dance."   
****   
"Sounds good to me," Koushirou muttered.   
****   
"Ooo, so they really _are_ an item, only a secret one!" 

"How could they keep something like that from me?!" Miyako frowned to herself. "How could I_zu_mi-senpai keep that away from me? How could Mimi-oneesama take him away like that!?! I thought she was my friend..."   
****   
"You can't? But why?" 

"Because I'm not going to the tenth grade, I'm going to the ninth. I'm an underclassman. The dance is for seniors only."   
****   
Koushirou sighed out in relief after overhearing Mimi say that.   
****   
"I know, but I you'll be able to go if you go along with a senior as their date," Yamato explained. 

"Really? Who would ask me?" she asked while looking around, expecting someone to show up and ask her. "Do you know someone?" 

Yamato nearly face faulted with a look of surprise. 

"What?" Mimi asked, noticing the expression of disbelief and amazement on his face.   
****   
Both Yuko and Miyako sweat dropped and asked, "She's kidding, right?"   
****   
"She isn't interested in him?" Koushirou asked in surprise. "I thought _all_ the girls were," he muttered sarcastically.   
****   
Yamato picked himself up and said to Mimi, "I was wondering if you would like to go with _me_!" 

"Wow! It would be _so_ much fun going! It would be nice to know what to expect when I go to my _own_ Senior Dance next year!" The girl then thought for a moment. "But Sora-san told me that you were going to play at the dance." 

"That is if I don't find a date," Yamato informed her. "If I don't, I'll play the entire time." 

"But why ask me?"   
****   
"Yeah, _why_ here!?!" Koushirou asked in semi-jealous tone. "There are _tons_ of other girls at this school!"   
****   
"There are lots of girls in this school that would _love_ to go out with you to a school dance," Mimi smiled at him.   
****   
"I would, I would!" Yuko nearly shouted out. 

"Shuuush!" Miyako hissed at the girl. 

"What are you two doing?" a voice from behind the two asked, which caused both girls to nearly scream from being startled so. 

The two girls turned to face a dark haired girl with shoulder-lengthed hair along with a somewhat skinny girl with long straight hair and freckles. 

"Ayame-san, Chinatsu-san," Miyako said, identifying the two girls. 

"What are you two doing?" Chinatsu asked again. 

"Yeah, why did you two run off so fast?" 

"Shh...be quiet," Yuko instructed. 

The two girls shrugged and saw what they were doing. 

"I don't believe you two!" Chinatsu scolded. "How could you _spy_ on Mimi-chan!" 

"You two are worse than Misao, Yuuji, Ukyo, and Seki put together!" 

"We're just curious about something, now _be_ quiet!" Yuko said again. 

The two girls shrugged and quieted down.   
****   
"Yeah, I know, but all of those girls treat me as 'Yamato of the Teen-Age Wolves,' not as 'Ishida Yamato,' like you or Miyako, or even her sister, *Chizuru. I _would've_ asked Sora, but she's already been asked."   
****   
"How did you guys become such good friends with him!" Yuko cried. 

"That's what _I_ would like to know," Ayame said. 

"You and Mimi-chan are _so_ lucky!" Chinatsu exclaimed. "You're date material for a celebrity!" 

"Um, Summer Camp..." the younger girl said quickly.   
****   
"Oh, so you just want a good friend to go along with you." 

"Yeah, that's pretty much it."   
****   
"She's probably going to go. Mimi-san _never_ turns down a party." 

For some odd reason, that semi bothered him; Mimi going to a party with Yamato, every local teenage girl's dream guy.   
****   
"There is nothing wrong with that; I would love to go..." 

"From your tone, you don't sound too convinced that you can make it." 

"Well, it _is_ short notice and I don't know if I have anything else to do..." 

"Well, if you _are_ busy Friday, I could try asking Chizuru, but I wouldn't be surprised if she already had a date," Yamato said, a bit dissapointed.   
****   
"She doesn't," Miyako muttered aloud.   
****   
"Hey, you never know, but I don't mind going with you. I'm glad that you consider me that close a friend to even consider asking me," she smiled. 

"Well, I _have_ known you for almost five years now so I decided to try." 

"Okay, I'll go!"   
****   
"So much for _our_ theory," Miyako told the other three. She then cheered to herself, glad that what they were thinking wasn't true. 

"What theory?" Chinatsu asked. 

"Mimi-chan and Izumi dating in secret." 

The girls got up and walked off, discussing. 

"You guys _actually_ think Mimi-chan would date someone without telling us?" Ayame asked in surprise. 

"I'm surprised at you two!" 

"Well, Yuko-san told me that Mimi-oneesama kissed him!" 

"And Miyako-san told me that for the past couple of nights, he had been taking Mimi-chan out to dinner!" 

"Wait, you mean you didn't know about the kiss?" Ayame asked Miyako. 

The girl shook her head. 

"I thought she was talking about something else." 

"What?" Yuko asked. 

"Um, do you three know what happened to her on Sunday?" 

The three shook their heads. 

"Oh, I guess I better not say anything then. She'll tell you three eventually." 

They didn't complain and accepted Miyako's decision. 

"Well, at least we now know that it isn't true; her and Izumi dating, although it _would_ be pretty interesting if they were," Chinatsu said. 

"Who tells Misao and Yuuji that Mimi-chan is going out with Yamato-san?" Yuko asked. 

"Izumi is no longer a threat to them now!" Chinatsu nearly laughed. 

The girls laughed. 

"Hey, I have to go! See you all later!" 

With that, the girl waved and ran off, feeling a lot better knowing the truth. She left the three older girls who went back to the lunch room before they were seen by Mimi or Yamato.   
****   
"Thanks a lot, Mimi!" 

"Sure, but if I find out Chizuru-san doesn't have a date, I'm going to hurt you!" Mimi smiled playfully at the taller, handsome blonde. 

"She's pretty popular, that's why I think she probably already has a date." The boy looked at his watch, noticing the time. "Whoa, I have to get going. I'll talk to you later, okay." 

"Okay, bye Yamato-san!" 

After the boy walked off, Mimi thought about what had just happened. She was asked out to a senior class dance. She was terribly excited. She couldn't wait to tell Koushirou and the others about it. 

She opened the computer lab door to find Koushirou lounging around pretty much. 

"Koushirou-kun," she called excitedly as she opened the sliding door. "I'm _so_ happy!" 

The girl started to twirl around as if she were in a fantasy world. 

"Yamato-san _just_ asked me to go with him to the dance this Friday! Isn't that great!?!" 

"Yeah, I guess so," he shrugged, not wanting to discuss it. "Well, we better finish our project. We have all of the information that we need." 

"Wait, what about the dance? Aren't you happy for me?" 

"Yes, I am," he responded nonchalantly. "Now, as I was saying, we really ought to get this presentation together. You said so yourself." 

"I know, but couldn't we talk about fun stuff for a while first? This is the first time in days that I have been actually happy about something since I keep thinking back to Sunday..." 

"Oh, sorry," the boy said with a forced smile, since he knew Mimi wanted him to be happy about her news. "I didn't mean to seem insensitive." 

"Nah, that's okay." Mimi decided to take a seat in the computer lab chair beside him. "So, are we off to Odaiba Elementary this afternoon?" 

"No, we have what we need." 

"But what about your mother? I thought you wanted to find out more about her." 

"Yeah, but I can't go, okay!" 

"But why?" 

"Because we have what we need!" 

"No we _don't_!" Mimi argued, growing annoyed with Koushirou's attitude. "You need more information other than your mother died! You don't even know what grade she taught at Odaiba Elementary!" 

"I said to forget it! I am _not_ going to that school and no one is going to make me!" He then gave her a cross look. "Besides, you should hurry up and get ready for your _little_ dance with Yamato-san." 

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Mimi asked, surprised at how harshly he was speaking with her and how rude and sarcastic he was acting. 

"Nothing, _okay_!!" 

With that, Mimi stood up. She had had enough of Koushirou's attitude. 

"I _just_ don't get you, Koushirou! First you're acting nice to me and now you are jumping down my throat for absolutely no reason at all!" She walked towards the door, about to leave, but she looked back first. "Sora-san was right, I shouldn't even _bother_ trying to figure you out!" 

With that, the girl tossed her hair, closed the sliding door, and walked off. Koushirou felt like dissappearing. He didn't mean to upset Mimi. 

"Koushirou _ba_ka! Why did I _do_ that? It's not _her_ fault that I am grounded. Why couldn't I just tell her!?!" 

Koushirou rested his head in the palms of his hands and gave out an exasperated sigh. 

"Why have I been acting so _dumb_ when it comes to her lately _any_way?" 

Not being able to answer his own question, the boy got up and left the computer lab, but when he walked out, he dropped his news article. What was really bothering him was the fact that Mimi had gotten asked out to a dance by the most handsome boy in school. He didn't understand _why_ it bothered him, but for some odd reason it did. If it were a couple of years earlier, it probably wouldn't have, but now was different. 

After Koushirou left, Mimi came back. She hated to leave anyone mad and was going to try and talk with Koushirou again to get an apology out of him. 

"Koushirou, I---" the girl started as she opened the door. 

She stopped talking when she saw that the room was empty. She sighed and figured that he had already headed back to class. The lunch period _was_ almost over. On her way out, she stepped on a piece of paper. She picked it up and read over the title. 

"*Mama-san to papa-san no Koushirou-kun...their deaths. This must be the article. I wonder why he left it..." 

The girl shrugged and folded up the piece of paper and stuck it into her uniform pocket. When she got back to class, Koushirou didn't even look her way. He started to, but stopped. It was quite obvious that he wanted to apologize, but Mimi took this personally. She felt that _she_ had done something that obviously bothered him. She was worrying about that so much, she didn't even mention that she was asked to the senior dance to Yuko and Ayame. 

"Maybe he is upset because I didn't pay for anything," the the girl said in thought, trying her best to figure out why Koushirou was so cross. "No, that can't be it. He _did_ offer to pay. I wonder what is wrong with him." 

The girl sat through the remainder of her tests, thinking about what she could do to get Koushirou to lighten up. The only thing she could think of was to get the information on his mother herself. She knew how Koushirou _really_ wanted to know about her and had made a semi big deal about it. 

"If _he _doesn't go to Odaiba Elementary to find out about Misayoshi-san, then _I_ will!" the girl said, her mind being made up. "I don't know why he doesn't want to go or why he can't, but _I_ am! Besides, this project is a part of _my _grade too!" 

After school ended, Mimi rushed off. She was going to Odaiba Elementary whether Koushirou wanted her to go or not...   
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Comments

Note 1: I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but Chizuru, Miyako's sister that is with Yamato, Sora, and Taichi age and grade wise, is in Yamato's class. The impression I got from 02, was that Taichi and Sora were in the same class, just like in previous years, but Yamato wasn't in their class. If I'm remembering right, he wasn't for 01 either. 

Anyway, Chizuru is in Yamato's class. Momoe is good friends with Jun and they are the same age and are in the same class in High School. Their school is never mentioned, but the assumption is Odaiba High. The two like to go to concerts together and no people, _not_ as a couple. The two are the best of friends and if you're wondering which is Momoe and which is Chizuru, I'll tell ya. Momoe is the one that Miyako resembles a lot...long hair and glasses. Chizuru has the really short hair and glasses.   
***   
Note 2: "Koushirou's mother and father" is what "Mama-san to papa-san no Koushirou-kun," translates too...supposedly if I did it right. 


	18. Mimi's Quest!

The last part was _obviously_ a writer's block. I couldn't think of anything to write, til I came up with that. Well, for the record, I wasn't at a block for this part. It's Mimicentric. All I have to do is listen to _Super Girl_ and I can write a lot about Mimi. I love that song _so_ much! For those who don't know--in other words, first timers to any fic of mine--that song is Mimi's second season theme. I am so addicted to it. ^_^ 

Anyway, as always, I do not own any of the characters or places associated with the game, manga, show, etc.   
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Part 18: The Quest of Mimi!

Mimi rushed out of Odaiba Junior High, books in hand to head on to Odaiba Elementary. Just like with Miyako, once Mimi puts her mind to something, she does it! 

On her way out, she ignored pretty much everyone, but she did run into Sora who looked extremely happy. 

"Mimi-chan, Mimi-chan...wait up!" the older girl called to her excitedly. 

Mimi stopped and turned to see Sora trying to catch up to her. 

"Where are you running off to?" 

Before Mimi could answer, Sora cut her off since she had such exciting news. 

"Mimi-chan, it's so wonderful!" 

"What's so wonderful?" 

"I got asked to the dance!" 

"_Really_?!? By who?" 

"Taichi! He _finally_ asked me! I've been waiting all week for him to ask me to go along with him! He sure did take his sweet time. I was thinking about going with someone else, but I finally decided that if he didn't ask me today, that I was going to go with the first guy who asked me today. He was lucky that he was the first guy to ask me today. He was pretty casual about the whole thing actually..." 

_It took the Soccer Loving Boy forever, but he finally got the nerve to ask Sora out right before lunch._

_"Should I ask in a goofy romantic way?" Taichi asked himself nervously. "No, maybe I should get flowers or candy or something like that." The boy shook his head. "Okay, maybe not since that's not like me. She'll definitely know something's up if I just showed up with candy and flowers for her, but it's just a school dance, it shouldn't be that big a deal asking."_

_The boy, still debating on how he should ask his childhood friend to the dance, realized that his time was up._

_"Oh no! I'm too late! Here she comes!" The boy then got a look of determination and courage. "It's now or never, Taichi! I just have to ask her and leave it at that!"_

_"Hey, Taichi," Sora said as she walked up to him while messing with her hair. She really wanted her hairpins to stand out more than what they were._

_"Hey Sora," the boy said nervously._

_Taichi mentally slapped himself since he felt he had sounded dumb when greeting Sora. He then decided to give himself a bit of a pep talk._

_"Hold on, Taichi. I need to calm down. Sora'll never go with me if she sees me acting like an idiot."_

_"So, where do you want to eat lunch today?" the young tennis player asked._

_"Same place as always."_

_"Okay," Sora said, noticing that no one else was around to eat lunch with them today, which she definitely didn't mind. Even Yamato wasn't around and he normally always ate lunch, along with other students, with her and Taichi. Taichi had asked Yamato to keep everyone away for a while so that he could ask, which he did, scoring a date for himself as well with Mimi._

_The two went to the same place they ate their lunch every day. The two were pretty quiet during their lunch since both were a tad bit nervous. Sora really wanted Taichi to ask her to the dance, but he didn't seem to get it after all of the hints she had been throwing at him since they found out about the dance. It took a short while longer, but he finally got the nerve to ask her out, but he took his own advice and decided to act as he would normally._

_"Yo, Sora, got a date to the dance that's coming up?"_

_"Nope, do you?"_

_"Nope, wanna go?"_

_"Sure," the girl smiled at him. "I thought you would never ask!"_

_"Cool..."_

"You know what _else_ was cute," Sora asked in excitement. 

Mimi was about to respond, but Sora didn't give her the chance to answer. 

"He actually _noticed_ my hair when we were going back to class! I wore the hair clips he gave me for my 12th birthday that I sorta made a big deal over since I thought he didn't like my hat," she told her. "He said that they made me look cute. You should've _seen_ the look on his face when he said that! It was _so _adorable and you could tell that he was nervous! Oh, and guess what _else_ he said!?!" 

"Um..." Mimi started, but once again, Sora didn't give her the chance. 

"He said that he wanted to take me out tonight, just the two of us to hang out! Isn't that cool? This is the best early birthday present I could _ever_ ask for! Taichi is _finally_ seeing me as a girl and not as 'one of the guys!'" 

The girl calmed down and realized that she was acting more like Mimi when it came to giving off news than _Mimi_ was. As a matter of fact, she was acting a lot like Miyako. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away like that," the girl smiled nervously. 

"That's okay," Mimi smiled. "I'm glad that you got asked out by Taichi-san. I had a feeling that it was him that you were hoping to ask you out." 

"Really? How?" 

"Just by the small things you would do or say to get his attention, but I can't think of any of them right off. Besides, I have to get going anyway." 

"Where to?" 

"Odaiba Elementary." 

"How come?" 

"Misayoshi-san used to teach at Odaiba Elementary before she died," Mimi reminded her. "I'm going to see what I can find out about her." 

"Oh, okay, but where is Koushirou-kun?" the girl asked while looking around for her red-headed friend. 

"I don't know and right now, I don't care!" the girl said angrily. 

"Let me guess...the two of you had an argument." 

The girl's annoyed expression was the only answer Sora needed. 

"What happened?" 

The girl explained everything to Sora and how Koushirou had acted irritable towards her. 

"That's not like him," Sora said, feeling a bit concerned for Koushirou. "Something must be bothering him. I mean, you said that he is really curious about his mother, yet he doesn't want to go to the one place that could have a lot of information about her. As he would say, 'that just doesn't compute.' I also doubt that your going to the senior dance has anything to do with it either." 

"Yeah, same here. I don't think my going with Yamato-san is a problem," Mimi agreed. She then smiled a bit. "He _is_ a nice guy afterall." 

"If _he_ has no incentive to go to Odaiba Elementary, then what's making you?" 

"I guess I'm just hoping that I find something out on Misayoshi-san, like a photo, to cheer him up. He really blew up when he couldn't get one when we were at Odaiba University. I'm sure that it's depressing him. He's a walking dead person. Everyone we've talked with, all said the same thing; that Koushirou looks like his mother. The lady at the adoption place said that he was the splitting image of her with his red hair and I agree, even though I've never seen her. I saw his father; they _aren't_ too similar in looks; except for the build and the serious expressions that they both wear." 

"I guess that _would_ be a bit creepy, but is that really the _only_ reason you're going?" Sora asked. "Are you sure there isn't more to it?" 

"No, that's it," the girl said plainly. "What other reason could I possibly have to go? I'm going to get something on Misayoshi-san to help cheer up Koushirou. Also, this project is a part of _my_ grade too!" 

The girl wasn't so sure if Mimi was being completely honest. Miyako had caught her before she ran into Mimi and told her about the kiss. 

"He even dropped his article about their deaths." 

"Really?" 

The girl handed Sora the article who read over it, while still walking of course. 

"Wow, this is terribly depressing. Do you think that this could be the reason for his bad mood today?" 

"Who knows," the younger girl shrugged. 

Mimi took the article back and put it back into her pocket. 

"For once in my life," Mimi sighed, "I don't know if I want to interfere or not." 

"Why not? He _is_ your friend, why wouldn't you?" 

"I just feel as if I'm being a nuisance worrying over him so much. I feel as if I am nothing but an annoyance to him, which is why he was so cross with me." 

"I sincerely doubt that. You are just acting like yourself, which he should be used of since he _is_ your friend. You are unselfish and you are putting others before yourself. You _were_ the crest bearer of Purity and what you're doing now is really showing off how pure you really are." Sora then gave her a reassuring smile. "You were really best suited for the Crest of Purity." 

"I guess you are right," Mimi smiled back. "Here I am living up to what my crest originally stands for and I didn't even realize it." 

The two girls finally came to the end of the walkway they were on. 

"Well, this is where I go," Sora said, about to turn off. "Call me when you get home." 

"Okay. See you later!" 

With that, Mimi continued her walk to Odaiba Elementary. It didn't take her too much longer for her to get there. When she got there, she didn't know _where_ to go since the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. 

"I guess I could try the library," she muttered to herself. 

She walked in the direction towards the library, but she came to the computer lab first. She smiled thinking about all of the good times she and the others had in Elementary school and thought of the time she and her family came back for a visit and met Miyako, Daisuke, and Iori for the first time. 

"Mimi-san?" 

The girl turned at the calling of her name and saw a boy a little smaller than her with short brown hair along with the same energetic friend Hikari had met at Sora's party standing along with him. 

"Iori-kun?" 

"Who's that?" the girl beside Iori asked. 

"Eiji-san, this is Tachikawa Mimi-san. She goes to Odaiba Junior High and is currently a second year student there." 

"Nice to meet you," Eiji greeted. 

"Mimi-san, this is my friend Tezuka Eiji-san." 

"Hello," Mim smiled to them. She then thought for a moment, recognizing the family name of Eiji. "Do you have any older brothers, Eiji-chan?" 

"Nope, I'm the oldest of my immediate family." 

"Strange, I met a boy a few nights ago by the name of Tezuka Eijiro, but never mind that. The name Tezuka _is_ quite common." 

"Wait, what did he look like?" 

Mimi described Eijiro to Eiji who smiled. 

"That sounds like my older cousin!" the girl exclaimed. "His father and my mother are brother and sister. I have their family name but my younger brothers have my stepfather's name." 

"Wow, what a small world," Mimi said. 

"Yep, sure is." 

"Mimi-san, what are you doing here?" 

"Oh, just doing a little research on an old teacher." 

"Research?" Iori asked. "What teacher?" 

"An _old_ teacher. She passed away a long time ago." 

"Now who would want information on an _old_ teacher?" Eiji asked. 

"Surprisingly, I do." 

"You could try asking one of the older instructors here," Iori suggested. 

"I guess that _would_ make sense," Mimi nodded. She then smiled at the two. "Arigatou, Iori-kun! Sayonara, Eiji-chan." 

The girl walked off, leaving the two younger children. 

"She sure is a pretty girl, I bet lots of boys give _her_ attention," Eiji said. She then muttered quietly, "Unlike me, I'm not pretty like her or Narumi-chan." 

"Did you say something, Eiji-san?" 

"Oh no, not at all," the girl lied with a nervous grin. 

Mimi kept going and made her way to the school office. A lot of students were hanging out since school had let out and they were pretty much goofing off. They all were surprised to see a student Mimi's age there. A lot of the rising seventh grade boys were gawking at her. 

When she got to the school office, she ran into... 

"Fuji_yama_-sensei!" 

The man turned at the mentioning of his name to see who had called him. 

"Mimi? Tachi_ka_wa Mimi?" the man said in surprise, walking up to the girl. "Wow, I haven't seen you in years! You look like a little adult now!" 

"It's nice to see you again too, Mr. Fujiyama. I'm surprised that you still remember me. I just moved back to Japan this past year." 

"Moved back?" 

"I moved to America a few years ago with my parents. I moved back, but they're still there." 

"I guess that explains why I rarely saw you visit the school, like the others. I remember most of you fairly well anyway. I mean, how could I forget you and Taichi and Sora and Koushirou and Jou and Yamato! You were the only ones who chose to go to another city than to go home when we closed up Summer Camp early almost five years ago, but never mind all of that. What brings you here?" 

"How long have you taught here at Odaiba Elementary, Fujiyama-sensei?" 

"Since the mid 80s. I was fresh out of college when I started teaching here. Why do you ask?" 

"I was trying to 'obtain some information on a past instructor who used to teach here until her unexpected expiration back in April of '90.'" the girl explained. "Now why does that sound so familiar..." she asked herself. 

"A past instructor? A deceased one?" The man thought for a moment, trying his best to think of an instructor. "I don't know of any teachers that died after you left here..." 

"April of '90, Fujiyama-sensei." 

"Oh, I didn't hear that. Well, the only person I can think of is Misayoshi-san. She was a first grade teacher here back then. She was very young. I wasn't very good friends with her or anything, though. We were pretty much just acquaintances." 

"That's the person!" Mimi exclaimed. "Do you know anyone here in this school that _can_ give me some information on her? She _had_ to have had at least _one_ good friend out of all of the teachers on the staff!" 

"Hmm, let me think for a moment..." 

The girl crossed her fingers. 

"Man, who did she hang around with!" Mr. Fujiyama muttered as he tried to remember. "She was pretty quiet, but she had a real knack for teaching." 

"That's okay, sir, if you don't remember," Mimi said in disappointment. 

"No, wait, I remember!" the man nearly shouted. "Hanada Sui-san, the fourth grade teacher. She has been here just as long as me and she was good friends with Misayoshi-san before her death. She took her death worse than anyone else here. They were like the best of friends!" 

"Do you know where I can find her?" 

"Either in the Teacher's Lounge or the Library doing her planning for the upcoming school year." 

Mimi, so excited to receive such useful information, hugged the man. 

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Fujiyama-sensei!" 

The girl ran off towards the library before Mr. Fujiyama could get the chance to ask why she wanted to know about Ms. Misayoshi to begin with.   
****   
Odaiba Elementary School's Library... 

"It's getting more and more stressful every year when it comes to teaching, don't you think Sayuki-san?" a stout woman asked. 

"No kidding!" Ms. Sayuki laughed. "I actually had _three_ students come to class tardy after lunch today!" 

"How?" the woamn asked while setting up a game board. "They eat in their classrooms." 

"I have _no_ idea! The children seem a bit more disruptive lately." 

"I bet it's because school is almost over," the woman said, writing up a few notes. "So, Sayuki-san, want to play a game of chess?" 

"Nope, sorry, can't. I have to get out of here today. I have to take the kids to their father's place for dinner." The woman rolled her eyes slightly. "_They_ insisted." 

"Another feeble attempt to try and get you and your ex husband back together?" 

"What else?" the woman sighed. "They just can't see why our not being together is better than our actually being together, especially my oldest daughter who insists that I must've done something wrong for that ex of mine to act the way that he did. If he wants to go with all the women he possibly can, let him. I don't want to go with someone that is constantly unfaithful. I stayed with him for years, hoping that he would change, but I'm not taking it anymore and if they can't see that, too bad." 

The woman stood up. 

"I'll talk to you later, Hanada-san" Ms. Sayuki told her friend. "I'll give you a call tonight when I get back from this disasterous dinner." 

"Okay, see you!" Ms. Hanada called to the woman. She then sighed sadly and muttered, "Miki-chan would have played..." 

The woman left Ms. Hanada at her seat. Right at that moment, Mimi ran into the library. She knew _of_ Hanada, but didn't know what she looked like. She had never had her as an instructor when she was there. The only person she saw in the library was the librarian behind the librarian's desk reading the paper and a stout blue-haired woman sitting at one of the tables with a chess set in front of her, looking a bit gloomy. Mimi wasn't sure if she wanted to approach this woman or not, but something told her to do it. 

"Konnichiwa, atashi wa Tachikawa Mimi desu," she bowed. "I need a bit of help." 

The woman looked up and forced on a gentle smile. 

"What's the matter, young lady?" 

"Well, I am sorry for bothering you, but I am looking for a Hanada Sui-san. I really must speak with her." 

"Well, you've found me. What do you have to speak with me about?" 

"I am very glad. I am working on a school project and some of the research concerns an old teacher that used to teach here. I asked around and I was told that you knew her best." 

"Who exactly are you referring to?" 

Mimi nervously handed her the news article. 

"The woman mentioned in this article...Misayoshi Miki-san. She used to teach here a long time ago until she passed away." 

Ms. Hanada got quiet as she looked over the article, trying her best to hold back tears. 

"Gomen nasai," Mimi apologized, wondering if her going there was a bad idea. 

"That's okay," the woman said quietly, handing the article back to Mimi. "Follow me." 

The girl followed the woman who led her to her classroom. Ms. Hanada shut the door behind her and took a seat behind her desk. Mimi took a seat in one of the student desks. They seemed quite small to her now. 

"Miki-chan was a great teacher and a great friend. It is a real shame that her life was cut so short." 

"So...you and Misayoshi-san were very good friends?" 

"The _best_ of friends," the woman corrected. 

"Oh." 

Ms. Hanada sighed as she started to tell Mimi about the deceased Misayoshi Miki... 

"We grew up together, went to Elementary, Junior High, _and_ High School together. We even went to _college_ together and came here to _teach_ together. I started teaching here first, though, and then I suggested that she should start teaching since she gets along with children so well. She wasn't so sure if she should. There was an opening here at this school for a new first grade teacher. It took a bit of persuasion, but it finally worked." 

She started running her hand through her short shoulder-lengthened blue hair. 

"We had a lot in common, like books for one. She loved to read, which was a good thing because Miki-chan was a dreamer, very imaginative. She could have made a great writer. She was always pondering and she was always hoping for the best. She was very optimistic and saw good in everything, even though she never had a real family, until she found Hiroaki-san." 

She tried her best not to cry, made herself continue on. 

"One of our favorite things to do together was to play chess, even though I was a terrible player. She loved the game. She was always a good strategic thinker." 

"Just like Koushirou," Mimi said to herself. "He's a _great_ strategic thinker, but I don't think he knows how to play chess..." 

"I sit around, sometimes, with a chessboard set up, hoping that one day she will come back and play a game with me, but I know that's just wishful thinking," she laughed nervously, feeling slightly foolish. 

Ms. Hanada had some newly fallen tears streaming down her cheeks, but wiped them away before continuing on. 

"She would always play as the black pieces, never the white. She would never go first. She likes to watch what her opponent's opening move is and start to formulate a plan to counter it from there. She was such a remarkable player. I have never seen her actually lose." 

Mimi continued to listen attentively. The girl felt sorry for the lady. She still was upset over the death of her good friend and still mourned over her. Mimi remembered what she saw when she entered the library; Ms. Hanada sitting in front of a Chess board, ready to play a game. 

"The one thing Miki wanted more than _any_thing was a family, a _real_ family. She loved children and it really showed. I knew that she would make a great mother if she ever became one and she told me, 'Sui-chan, if I ever have a child, I want you to be the godmother.' 

"Then it happens one day. Her and Hiroaki-san were blessed with their first child. I wasn't around when she had the child because her and Hiroaki-san were out of the country. When they came back, I got to see the baby. He was so adorable. He looked like a mix of both his mother and father, but that red hair of his stuck out tremendously. It's just so _tragic_ that she and Hiroaki-san died! The only one that survived was their son. I was willing to adopt him, but I couldn't get him because I wasn't a blood relative and my being Little Koushirou's Godmother was never legalized and no paper was ever signed saying that if something were to happen to her or Hiroaki-san that I would have to take care of him and become his legal guardian. 

"After that, I was never informed on Little Koushirou's status or if he found a good home or not. Growing up in an orphanage is quite depressing. Poor Miki-chan did. We were both orphans, but I was adopted, she wasn't and stayed in many foster homes. We still remained friends, though, and she would always go to the same school as me even though the school was out of her way. We promised back when were six years old that we would be friends forever." 

The woman then lowered her head sadly. 

"I didn't even get to say goodbye..." 

After that, Ms. Hanada broke down and cried. Mimi got up and handed her a kleenex from out of her purse, trying her best to calm Ms. Hanada. 

"Thank you," the woman sniffled, accepting the kleenex and wiping her tears away. "I am sorry about that. I am still upset over her death. I still haven't really coped with it." 

"That's okay, I understand." 

"Why are you so curious about her?" 

The girl was wondering what she should tell her, but decided to stick with the truth. 

"I know of her son." 

"You _know_ where Little Koushirou is!" the woman asked in shock. "You _know_ him!?!" 

"Yes," she nodded. "As a matter of fact, he is a friend of mine and for the past so many years of his life, he has always wondered about his real mother and father. We started this search a few days ago and we found out a lot about Fukami-san, but not _too_ much about Misayoshi-san. He was starting to get discouraged since he hadn't found out much about his mother." 

"Oh my gosh! He is alive and _well_!?! Little Koushirou is okay?!?" 

"Yep, he sure is," Mimi smiled. 

"Where does he live?!? What school does he go to and what schools has he been to?!? Has he even _seen_ his parents? Details!! I need details!!" 

The girl smiled and answered all of her questions. 

"_Here_!?! He went to _this_ school!!" 

"Yes, only his family name was changed after he was adopted. It is now Izumi, not Misayoshi, and he has never seen a photo of his mother. We couldn't find one." 

"I would love to see him again. I too always wanted a family, but I was never blessed with the ability too. Adoption is my only option, unfortunately." 

"Excuse me, Hanada-san, but I really must go," Mimi said, noticing the time. "Thank you for everything you have told me," she bowed. "I really appreciate your time." 

The girl started towards the door. 

"Tachikawa-kun, wait a moment." 

The woman opened up her desk drawer and took out two pieces of paper. She then handed them to Mimi. 

"I want you to give these to Little Koushi," the woman instructed. She then sniffled a bit. "That's what Miki-chan used to call him." 

The girl nodded and accepted the two small papers, but looked them over first. 

"Please, tell him that he _was_ wanted and that I would have taken him in." 

Mimi nodded as Ms. Hanada told her some more things and then left. She smiled. She had a feeling that what she was about to tell and show Koushirou would cheer him up tremendously... 


	19. Miyako's Crushing Day!

I can never write a _short_ fic. This is getting _much_ longer than I expected it to. Well, expect more "angsty" type stuff. I just can't resist using it even though when I started this, there wasn't supposed to be. 

Oh in response to one of the reviews, yes I always found Mr. Fujiyama a tad bit...annoying and goofy. Oh well, no more of him now. :-p Oh, btw, I am planning on writing a sequel to this particular fic. For more information about that, just check out my bio under the "Upcoming Future Fics" section. 

Now, as always, I do not own anything associated with Digimon in general, now on with the fic.   
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Part 19: Miyako's Crushing Day!

Over at the Inoue home, Miyako's older sister, Chizuru, was talking on the phone about a very important issue... 

"Yeah, I heard, a second year, my sister's friend Tachikawa-san...Why are _you_ upset? I still don't have a date to my _own_ senior dance, you do!...You really thought Yamato-kun was going to ask me?...Oh, that's silly, we aren't buddy-buddy friends, we're just acquaitances...Maybe I'll get a date by Friday morning...hey, I have to get going...What do you _mean_ why?...Okay, so you want to know why. If you _must_ know, I have some chores to do around here. It's my day to cook dinner...okay, see you tomorrow at school...bye Suzu-chan." 

The glasses wearing girl hanged up the phone and sighed. She was really dissapointed that no boy had asked her to the upcoming dance. All of her guy friends, who only saw her as a friend, had dates, Yamato included. She acted like it didn't bother her much that Yamato didn't ask her, but it really did. 

"Hey, what's up?" Miyako called as she walked into the living room. 

"Nothing much. I'm just a bit annoyed because I don't have a date to my _own_ dance!" The girl crossed her arms. "I just _knew_ Yamato-kun was going to ask me, but he didn't! I thought were good friends, sort of. He told me a while ago that if he had to go to any important dances or school functions, that he would take a friend and not an obsessed fan; although, Tachikawa isn't one of them. She treats him the way I do." 

"So you heard that Mimi-oneesama is going to be the date of Yamato-san? 

"The entire ninth grade _class_ knows it!" Chizuru then gave Miyako a questioning look. "How do _you_ know about it?" 

"I heard and saw him ask her," the girl said as she headed towards the kitchen. 

"What?" Chizuru asked in surprise. 

She got up and ran into the kitchen behind Miyako. 

"You _heard_ him ask Tachikawa out?!?" 

"Yep," the girl said while taking a soda from out of the fridge. 

"Oh..." 

"If you're wondering, you were his first choice to ask out." 

"Really?" 

The girl popped the top of her soda and nodded. She then headed towards the cabinet to take out a glass. 

Chizuru crossed her arms, not really believing what Miyako had just told. 

"You aren't _lying_, are you?" 

"Nope," Miyako said plainly as she poured her drink into a glass. 

"Are you positive?" 

"Yes, I'm positive," the girl said as she started to drink down her soda. 

The girl walked back to the living room and sat down on the couch and turned on the television. Chizuru sat down beside her. 

"He said that he would have asked you, but he figured that since you are already pretty popular and well known that you probably already had a date," the younger girl explained. "He really wanted to go with a friend who didn't see him as a 'movie star' like the majority of the girls in our school." 

"Well, at least I know that he didn't ditch me." 

Right at that moment, the phone rang. Momoe, who had been ignoring her two younger sisters since she was reading a book, looked up and ran over to the ringing phone. 

"It's probably for me! I'm expecting a call from Jun! 

She answered it, but it turned out to be a wrong number. 

"Oh well," she said as she hanged up the phone. 

"What's the deal with you and Jun and all of your other many phone calls anyway?" Chizuru asked. "You're tying up the phone line! What if some boy is trying to call and ask me out, but can't because my talkative sister is hogging the phone." 

Momoe took her seat back down at the couch. 

"For your information, _nosy_, Jun, me, and some other kids from our graduating class are planning a trip for next month. We are all still trying to decide where to go. It's sort of a graduation trip. So far, Jun wants to go to Kyoto, Yoshii wants to go to Okinawa, Aritomo-kun wants to go out of the country, etc. We still can't make up our minds and time is running out." 

"Cool!" Chizuru exclaimed. "I wish we could go on a trip, but Spring Break isn't long enough for us!" 

"Lucky for me, I'm in my senior year and I'm planning on enjoying everything there is about it! Including our senior dance the night of graduation. After these next couple of days, I'm through with High School, but I'm not going to start the University of Tokyo right away, not until the next term. I've already been accepted in and so has Jun and our good friend Mayumi! We studied very hard for those entrance exams and all _three_ of us passed!" 

"I don't know how mom and dad are going to do it. Both of you have different ceremonies since you are both seniors." 

"They'll find a way," Chizuru laughed. "They always find a way." 

The phone rang again and Momoe got up to answer it. Chizuru stayed on the couch with Miyako watching television. 

"Moshi-moshi," the girl answered. "Oh, hold on," she said. Momoe held the receiver and called, "Miyako, phone!" 

The girl got up to answer it. 

"Hello?" 

"Hello, Miyako-kun," the person on the other end answered. 

"Izumi-senpai!" Miyako smiled in excitement. "It is really nice to hear from you!" 

"Yeah." 

"What's up?" 

"Nothing much. I was just wondering if you had seen Mimi-san around." 

"No, I haven't. She left right after school I'm assuming. I didn't even see her at her locker this afternoon, but I _did_ see Sora-san, though." 

"Oh, okay," the boy said in disappointment. "Thanks anyway, g'bye." 

The boy was about to hang up until Miyako stopped him. 

"No, wait, don't hang up. Let's talk for a while." 

"I really don't have time for this, Miyako-kun," the boy said apologetically. 

"But we hardly _ever_ talk anymore; besides, I want to know what is going on with you." 

"What's going _on_ with me?" 

"Yeah, you have been acting kind of different lately and I am curious as to why." 

"But..." 

"You've been acting so weird lately when it comes to oneesama and don't deny it because I've noticed it!" 

"I'm sorry, Miyako-kun, I really have to go! I _really_ need to get in touch with Mimi-san." 

"But..." 

"I don't have time for this, Miyako-kun!" the boy responded rudely, but it wasn't intentional. "I _really_ have to go!" 

"But Izumi-senpai, I just wanted to say..." 

"Sorry, bye..." 

The boy hanged up. Miyako felt as if Koushirou had stuck his hand into her chest, pulled out her heart, and crushed it in the palm of his hand. She had a _terrible_ crush on Koushirou, even though _she_ could never admit to it. The only other person that had an idea about Miyako's crush was the one person that Miyako could actually get jealous over...Mimi. She always suspected that Miyako had a thing for Koushirou just like she had always suspected that Sora had one on Taichi. She even had a hunch that Yuko had a small crush on Yuuji, but she knew never to bring something like that up. 

It was pretty strange how she could see how others had crushes on other people, yet she could never tell when those, other than her obvious admirers, had crushes on her. It was true that Yamato _could_ have asked out Chizuru, but he really _did_ have Mimi in mind when he first thought of people to ask. He always found Mimi nice, smart, and cute and felt that the dance would have been the perfect chance to try to get a date out of her. The karaoke bar was supposed to be just the two of them, but Mimi made it a group thing. 

Once again, the glasses-wearing girl was jealous over her "friend" since, lately, Koushirou had been paying a lot more attention to Mimi than to her. Her sisters noticed the look on Miyako's face as she held the phone in her hand. Both asked her what was wrong. 

"Oh, nothing," the girl said with a forced smile. 

She then walked over to the coat hanger by the door and grabbed her jacket. Miyako really didn't want to hang around with the way she was feeling. 

"I better get down to the Ai-Mart, it's my turn to watch it." 

The girl jumped into her shoes and ran out of the door, her heart aching. 

"What's she talking about?" Chizuru asked. "_You _were going to watch the store today." 

"Yeah, I was, but Miyako'll be back soon," Momoe said. "Besides, neither mom nor dad would let a child Miyako's age watch the store by herself at this time of the day." 

"I wonder what Koushirou-kun wanted." 

"A secret date!" Momoe laughed. 

"Perfecto!" Chizuru laughed in agreement. "She just made that up about her going down to the mart to get out of the house." 

"Hey, I'm getting hungry," Momoe said as she opened up her book again. 

"Me too. I guess I should start dinner up now." 

"Yeah, I'm starving over here!" Momoe then got a playful smirk. "Then again, it would be safer and healthier to starve than to eat _your_ cooking!" 

Chizuru tossed one of the cushions from the couch at Momoe. 

"Only Mantarou-niichan would say something like that!" the girl said. 

"I know," Momoe smiled. "Someone has to take over since he is away." 

The girl laughed as she left her sister to go start dinner...   
****   
Down in the store... 

"That will be," Mrs. Inoue checked the total, "¥663 (About $5.00), please." 

The customer hands her the money. 

"Thank you, come back again soon," the woman smiled and bowed. 

When the customer walked out, Miyako walked in. 

"Hey there Miyako," Mrs. Inoue greeted, putting the money into the register. "What brings you down here?" 

"I wanted to watch the store for the evening." 

"Miyako, you know you are too young to watch the store by yourself for the evening..." 

"Mom, please!" 

"No, you are just a little girl." 

"You are always talking about how I could use more responsibility, why can't I watch the store until dad comes down!?!" 

"Maybe when you are older, like your sisters and brother." 

"No," the girl protested. "Please, mom, I want to prove to you that I am _not_ a baby! That I can take care of myself! That I am _better_ than Mi...er, oniichan, Momoe-neechan and Chizuru-neechan!" 

"I know what this is about," the woman smiled. 

"You do?" 

"You want to earn some extra money for some new outfit you probably saw at the mall, I'm sure." 

The girl nodded, even though she was lying. She knew that Wednesdays were always slow business days and that was the only place she could think of where she could be alone, away from her family. 

"I guess that's logical, but I _still_ think you are too young to be left here by yourself at this time of the day. Besides, Momoe said that she wanted to watch the store." 

"I could _really_ use the extra money." 

"If that's the case, why not work on your normal days, Saturday and Sunday afternoons." 

"I want to challenge myself." 

"My little baby is so eager to grow up." 

"Mom, I am _not_ a baby anymore!" 

It took a bit of persuasion--okay a lot--but Mrs. Inoue gave in and decided to let her watch the store. With the way Miyako was feeling, she really felt that being alone would help her right now. Miyako _obviously_ wasn't going to give up, which is why Mrs. Inoue gave in. She knew how Miyako got when she got into her determined moods to show off her independence. 

"You know where everything is and what to do so I'll get going. I'll send your father down to check up on you later. I am not going to have you staying here all evening." 

"Okay mom and thanks." 

It took the woman a long time, but she finally left Miyako. 

"_Why_ won't he talk to me? I thought _I_ was his friend too." The girl then sighed. "He is shutting me out, but is willingly letting Mimi-oneesama in...why?"   
****   
After the conversation on the phone with Miyako... 

"I didn't want to do that, but I'm technically not supposed to even be _on_ the phone," Koushirou said while holding his cordless phone. He then sighed, "Darn, where in the world _is_ she?" 

The boy had tried calling everyone, in between chores so that he wouldn't get into trouble. When he called Yamato, he hadn't seen her since lunch, Takeru hadn't seen Mimi in a long time, Jou was out according to his answering machine--probably with Malissa or Eijiro or some other friends of theirs from school, the redhead assumed--Iori hadn't gotten home yet, Hikari hadn't seen Mimi and she told him that Taichi was out, Sora wasn't home, Daisuke hadn't seen her, Ken told him that he hadn't seen Mimi in a good while, Mimi's uncle said that she wasn't home yet and that he didn't know where she had gone, and we _all_ know what happened with Miyako. 

Koushirou had even gotten _desperate_ enough to call Misao. He always considered him, as well as other devoted "Mimi admirers," stalkers. Misao just seemed to be the leader of them... 

_"Izumi?" Misao asked in shock after he answered the phone. "Izumi Koushirou? Computer Club Izumi?"_

_"Yes, it is me, which you have obviously established," boy said with exasperation._

_"You are calling me," the boy said, still in surprise. "Why?"_

_"I am just as surprised as you."_

_The tall, buff dark-haired boy became a bit concerned. Even though the two weren't the best of friends--they were barely acquaintances--he figured that something had to have been wrong for Koushirou to call him voluntarily._

_"What's wrong?"_

_Koushirou muttered to himself in annoyance. He really hated the fact that he was wasting his time calling Misao, especially concerning Mimi._

_"Well?" he asked again since Koushirou was pretty much still debating over whether or not to ask him about Mimi._

_"Oh, I was just wondering if you had seen Mimi-san."_

_"No, she left right after school. I was going to offer to walk her home before Yuuji asked, but she left before I had the chance!" the boy nearly cried._

_The boy rolled his eyes at how Misao was acting. He knew that Misao, as well as the others who were obsessed with Mimi, annoyed him and vowed not to bother calling Misao again and not to bother calling any of his fellow inseperable buddies if he ever had anything to say or ask concerning Mimi._

_"I am so sorry to hear that, Takamatsu-san," Koushirou told him in a fake, sarcastice sympathetic manner. The sympathetic manner of his was unintended, but his sarcasm was not._

_"Don't you start anything, Izumi!" Misao threatened, noticing the sarcasm in Koushirou's voice._

_"Who says that I am?" Koushirou responded cooly._

_"Why are you looking for her anyway?" Misao asked, growing suspicious of him. "He better not be trying to ask her out!" he muttered to himself._

_"She has some classnotes of mine and I just wanted to retrieve them from her," he lied._

_"Oh."_

_"I am sorry for wasting your time, Takamatsu-san. I'll get going."_

_"Izumi, wait!"_

_The boy stayed on the line._

_"What?"_

_"Could you ask Mimi-chan if I could walk her home tomorrow after school for me and then if she would like to hang out tomorrow night with me?"_

_Koushirou got a look meaning, "Is he serious?"_

_"Please?"_

_"Sure, I just hope I remember. Good bye."_

_The boy hanged up quickly before Misao could say anything further. He really wasn't planning on asking her out for him..._

_"I'd ask her to go out on a date with me before I would ask for a guy like him!"_

_The boy mentally slapped himself. He couldn't believe he had just indirectly said that he would like to ask Mimi out. He shook the thought off and stuck to not asking Mimi out for Misao..._

"What do I do? I _have_ to apologize to her!" 

The boy got up and walked out into the hallway, preparing to leave until he was startled. 

"Koushirou, dear, what are you doing?" Mrs. Izumi asked. 

"Um, I...um...forgot and left my English textbook at school and I have to go pick it up." 

The boy smiled nervously a bit. 

"I have to go find my article too. I haven't seen it since I had it during lunch today!" the boy said to himself. 

"Oh really?" Mrs. Izumi said, not at all convinced. "What do you need your English textbook for? You took your English Exam already." 

"Um...I...wanted...to...look up a phrase I think I may have gotten wrong on it," the boy added on to the lie. He then started to sweat bullets as he said to himself, "Is that convincing enough? I sure hope so. I _have_ to go out and find Mimi-san!" 

"That's logical, but it can wait until tomorrow," the woman said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You are _grounded_, remember?" The woman then spoke in a stern manner. "You are _not_ to leave this place for _any_ reason, except to go to school in the morning." 

"But mom, I _have_ to go! It is _really_ important! I have to go see, Mi--um...those answers!" 

"Then tell me the truth. What is _so_ important that you are willing to jeopardize your grounding time which could end up longer and our taking your laptop away?" she asked, staring right into his eyes. "Your father was thinking about doing that _and_ taking your desktop away, but I persuaded him _not_ to since this school year _isn't_ quite over yet and you still have that history assignment of yours which has to be typed and researched on according to you." She then asked again, "Where do you have to go?" 

"No place," he said while lowering his head. "It can wait until tomorrow." 

The woman felt awful. She hated doing this to her son, but he had to learn _not_ to keep secrets from them. She could tell that Koushirou was still being dishonest with her, which made her feel even worse. 

"There are some dishes in the kitchen that needs cleaning and putting away...go do them." 

The boy nodded and obeyed her and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. A short while later, Mr. Izumi walked into the house. 

"Hey dear!" the man said as he stepped out of his shoes. 

He then headed towards the living room where his wife was sitting and gave her a small hug. 

"Here is your strawberry ice cream," he said while handing her a small paper bag. 

"Thank you," the woman said, taking the bag halfheartedly. 

"What's the matter?" the man asked, noticing her distant look. 

Mrs. Izumi explained what happened. The man frowned. The two then went to their bedroom so that they could talk more privately without Koushirou overhearing. 

"What in the world is going _on_ with that boy?" Mr. Izumi asked, shaking his head. 

"I have no idea, it's obvious that he's still lying about something." 

The man took off his glasses and started to clean the lenses with his shirt tail. 

"So he wouldn't tell you why or where he wanted to go and is still covering up with more lies," the man said as he put his glasses back on. "I don't know what else we can do." 

Mrs. Izumi couldn't take it anymore and started to cry. 

"This isn't like our Koushirou! It is not supposed to be this way! He is supposed to be our perfect little boy! It is probably my fault he ended up like this!" 

"No, no, don't say that," Mr. Izumi said, hugging on his crying wife, trying his best to comfort her. "It is _not_ your fault. It is both our faults. We were both too soft on and spoiled him after we lost our _own_ child. We pretty much spoiled _every_ child we had in our home after our son's death." 

The woman got out of her husband's grasp and sat down on the bed, pondering over the situation. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I am starting to get this feeling that Koushirou is covering for someone." 

"What do you mean?" he asked as he sat down beside her. 

"I have this feeling that he isn't doing this because he wants to, but because he _has_ to." 

"First he's a bad kid, now you are saying he's a good one?" 

"No, not really," the woman said. She then shook her head, sounding a bit confused. "I don't know _what_ I'm saying. All I'm saying is that I really feel that he is covering for someone. Take Sunday for instance, he was gone all day, the day before that, he mentioned something about Mimi. Today, he said something about having to go 'see' something and I doubt he was talking about a textbook because of how important he was making it sound. I think he was talking about a person. I think something is going on with Mimi and Koushirou is covering for her and just doesn't want us to know about it." 

"Do you _really_ think that's it?" 

"Farfetched, I know, but that is what I truly think." 

"So we are grounding him for nothing?" 

"No, he has to learn to respect us, like you said. He can't do that by lying to us. He has to know that whatever is wrong or whatever situations he may face, that he can come to us about them." 

Before her husband could answer, there was a knock on their door. It was Koushirou. 

"Um, mom, I finished washing the dishes and I dried and put them away. I'm going to work on my history project now." 

"Okay dear." 

With that, Koushirou went to his room and locked himself in. He still had his lock that he put on the door when he came home from summer camp early years ago. He never did bother rising it since he got taller. Koushirou was really in a pickle. He didn't know if he wanted to sneak out to go and find Mimi or sit in his room worrying the entire night. 

What he _really_ wanted was to talk to his Digimon partner, Tentomon, for some of his advice and wisdom, but there was only one problem with that. Even though traveling to and from the Digital World isn't much of a problem, getting in touch with their Digimon was always a hassle since all of their Digimon always partied and such, _especially_ during the school year since all of the Digimon knew how busy their human partners were. Koushirou knew that he probably wouldn't be able to get in touch with Tentomon until his Spring Break started up that next week. 

He sat in his room, thinking about what he should do...   
****   
Back at the store... 

Miyako was still sulking and moping. Back in her home, both Chizuru and Momoe were surprised to find out that Miyako really _did_ want to watch the store for the evening. Their mother told them that Miyako wanted to get a new outfit. Momoe just laughed and teased that Miyako wanted a new outfit "to impress Koushirou-kun." 

Miyako still sat behind the counter in the quiet, and dead convenient store with her thoughts, oblivious to the customer who had just walked in. She didn't even greet the customer in the same, routine manner like she would normally since she was in such deep thought. She just didn't understand Koushirou. How could she have such great respect for a person who doesn't even talk to her anymore. She really missed her conversations and all of the time they used to spend together before Mimi moved back to Odaiba. It never really bothered her before, but it had been a lot lately since he has just tuned her out altogether. 

"Miyako-san?" the customer called, wanting to pay for their purchases. 

The girl looked up to see Iori standing in front of the counter. 

"Hello there Iori," the girl smiled quickly. She learned from her parents that you're always supposed to greet customers with a smile. 

"Hi Miyako-san, what are _you_ doing here?" 

"I'm watching the store," she said plainly. 

The younger boy noticed Miyako's tone and how it wasn't very outgoing, playful, or happy like it would be normally. He was also expecting more of a reason for Miyako's watching the story. 

"Is something wrong?" 

"No, just hoping I passed my math exam with flying colors," she lied. 

"Is _that_ all?" He smiled at the older girl. "You probably did well on it. You _are_ a math whiz and you're great at tutoring math too. You tutor lots of people in your class, and you help me with mine all the time." 

Miyako rung up Iori's purchases, which were a bunch of drinks for him and his family, which consisted of himself, his mother, and his grandfather. 

"Arigatou, Miyako-san." 

"You're welcome," she sighed. 

"You know, Miyako-san, mom asked me to ask if you would like to join us for dinner later on this week. It's her way of thanking you for fixing our computer a short while ago." 

"Mind if I take a raincheck?" she asked gloomily. 

"But my mom was going to bakes cakes and everything," he added, knowing how Miyako loved cake. He knew a lot of things about Miyako, especially since she _was_ his baby-sitter at one point. 

*Note: I'm only assuming this, folks. I got that impression from the first episode of 02. Iori's mother wanted him to stay with Miyako so that he wouldn't be by himself.* 

"Nah, that's okay." She then changed the subject. "You better get those drinks up to your family." 

"Oh-oh yeah, that's right," Iori said. "I better get going. Bye, Miyako-san!" 

The boy ran out of the store and back upstairs to his apartment. He felt that it was strange how Miyako wasn't acting like herself and how she had turned down having cake. 

When he got to his home, his mother thanked him for remembering to get the soft drinks before coming home and informed him that he had received a call from Koushirou. 

"Koushirou-san?" 

"Yeah, he sounded like he really needed some help with something." 

"I guess I should call him back." 

"Okay, but hurry up," his mother told him. "Your dinner is going to get cold." 

"Yes, and we all know that a cold dinner is the worst kind of dinner for one to have," Iori's grandfather, who was sitting at the table, stated wisely. He then spoke in a playful manner and said, "Unless they are brussel sprouts which is a terrible dinner no matter _how_ hot or cold it is." 

Mrs. Hida laughed at her father-in-law and sat down with him and started to dine while Iori went to call the Izumi household.   
~*~*~*~   
"Hello, Mrs. Izumi." 

"Hello there, Iori. How are you?" 

"I'm fine, but my mother told me that Koushirou-san called for me. I was wondering what was wrong." 

"He called Iori when he wasn't supposed to have used the phone? It must have been very important for him to risk his grounding." 

"Mrs. Izumi?" Iori called since Mrs. Izumi hadn't said anything since he asked what Koushirou could have called for. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman apologized. "I don't know why he called, but I can go get him." 

The woman walked over to Koushirou's door and tried to open it, but she found it locked. She then started to knock. She still didn't get an answer. 

"Koushirou...Koushirou...phone..." 

Still no answer. 

"He must have gone to bed early," Mrs. Izumi told him. "He isn't answering." 

"Oh, okay then. Tell him that I _did_ return his call." 

"Okay, I will. Bye, Iori."   
~*~*~*~   
"Was Koushirou okay?" Mrs. Hida asked as Iori entered the dining area. 

"I don't know," he shrugged as he took his seat. "Izumi-san said that he must be asleep since he didn't answer her." 

"I am sure that whatever the problem was, that it has been solved," Grandfather Hida wisely stated. "Now let's dig in!" 

The other two agreed and dug into their meals.   
****   
"What's wrong, Yoshie?" 

"Koushirou has locked his door." 

"I guess he doesn't want to be disturbed while doing his work." 

"He probably just decided to go to bed early." 

The woman didn't really believe what she had just said though. She had the feeling that Koushirou was once again being secretive. She didn't know how right she was. For Koushirou wasn't in his room, he had snuck out to go off in search of Mimi... 


	20. Busted!

I really apologize for this part everyone. I personally think it could have been better than what it turned out to be, especially the stuff dealing with Koushirou for it. Well, don't forget to let me know what you think of this so far, and don't forget to look at my profile here at ff.net for current/upcoming fic information. 

Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated with the show, game, manga, etc*   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 20: Busted!!

After Mimi finished talking with Ms. Hanada, she ran into Iori again and talked with him for a while. She explained to him that she was going over to Koushirou's to give him the information she got on the old teacher and that they were both working on the project. Too bad it didn't work out that way. 

She decided to go home instead of going over to the Izumi's. It was starting to get a bit late and she didn't want to worry her folks like she had before. She hadn't called to let them know where she was going this time, mainly because her cell phone battery had died on her. She talked to her uncle for a brief while before her phone died on her, though. Besides, Mimi _still_ wasn't all that keen on being out during the evening by herself. 

When she got home, she was greeted by her uncle. 

*"Konban wa, ojisan." 

"Hey Mimi, glad you finally made it home." 

"Sorry I'm late." 

"Not to worry, Sué isn't back yet, either. She's still out shopping with the kids. Besides, you aren't all _that_ late and we probably shouldn't worry so much over you. You have a good head on your shoulders and you're a smart girl." 

Mimi smiled at her uncle as he went back to take his seat in the living room to read his paper. 

"Dinner is going to be a bit late since your aunt and the kids aren't back, unless you want to eat now." 

"No, I can wait." 

With that, the girl ran up to her room and put her books down. She had a couple of calls to make, one being for Koushirou and the other in mind being for Sora and she wanted to talk with Miyako as well. She dialed a familiar number which was answered by Mr. Izumi. He too tried knocking on Koushirou's door to see if he would answer, but just like with Mrs. Izumi, he did not get one. 

"I guess he's asleep," the man said, having the same strange feeling as his wife had about Koushirou's silence. 

"That's okay. I had something to give him, but I guess it can wait." 

"Something to give him?" 

"Yeah, for his history project," she explained. "Never mind, though. I'll just talk with him tomorrow." 

" I will be sure to tell him that you called. If you want, you can drop whatever it is that you have and we could get them to him." 

"That's okay. Just tell him that I will see him in school tomorrow." 

"Sure thing." 

The man was quite for a moment and spoke up. 

"Um, Mimi, did Koushirou give you a call earlier today?" 

"No, not that I know of." 

"Oh, okay, never mind then." 

"Okay! Sayonara, Izumi-san." 

The man hanged up the phone, pondering quite a bit. He was pretty curious as to what it was that Mimi had for Koushirou. 

"I really need to get this info to Koushirou," Mimi said as she looked over the two pieces of paper Ms. Hanada had given her. "I just _know_ that he would love to see these!" 

She stayed in her room a bit longer, thinking about what she should do. She _really_ didn't want to wait until the next day to give Koushirou the information that she had. 

Mimi didn't get the chance to "think" too long. Her cousin had run up to her room to tell her that it was time for dinner. A short while before Mimi dialed the Izumis' number, her aunt and two younger cousins had returned home. 

"Neechan, it's time for dinner!" 

Mimi opened her door and smiled at her cousin. 

"Okay, I'll be right down." 

She hurried and joined the rest of the family for dinner. During dinner, she started to ask if she could go over to the Izumi's, but she changed her mind and dismissed it. She really didn't want to go over there by herself. She still had a slight fear of going places by herself since her encounter that past Sunday. 

"Never mind about going over there, I'll just talk with Koushirou tomorrow." 

"He called here looking for you earlier this afternoon," Kichibei said, sipping on a glass of wine. "I forgot to mention that to you when you got home." 

"He did?" the girl asked in surprise. "He probably wanted to apologize for his outburst today," she thought. 

"Yeah, he sure did," the man nodded as he added some rice onto his plate. 

"That's weird, why would he call here and then not be around when I call him back?" she wondered to herself. She then told her family, "Oh well, I guess he got tired of waiting for me to call back. I just called him before Isako came and got me for dinner." 

"Is Kou-chan sad again?" Isako asked while eating on a drumstick. 

"No, he's just asleep right now according to his father." 

The girl started to sip on her drink when her uncle spoke up again. 

"You know, quite a few people called for you today; Koushirou, your friend Yuko, and your friend Yamato." 

"Is there anyone else that you have forgotten to tell us that called today?" his wife laughed. 

"Hey, I'm not used of all of this phone responsibility. I had no idea that Mimi was so popular." 

"I'm just teasing," the woman smiled. 

Sué started to feed Ton, who laughed playfully. She then decided to ask about Mimi's day. 

"So, how was school today?" 

"It was okay." 

The girl decided not to bring up the pointless argument she had had with Koushirou. 

"I _did_ get asked to a dance." 

"Ooo, a dance!" the younger girl exclaimed. "Is that like a big kids' party?" 

"Yeah, you could say that." 

"What dance is this?" Sué asked. 

"I was invited to go to the Odaiba Junior High Senior Dance." 

"But you aren't a senior," Kichibei pointed out. 

"I was invited by one," Mimi explained. "Underclassmen aren't allowed to attend, but if they are invited by a senior as their partner, they can." 

The man wasn't sure if he liked the idea of that or not, Mimi going out with a guy in general. 

"Who is this guy? Do we know him? Does he know the consequences of what will happen to him if he does anything to harm you? Does he..." 

"Kichibei, calm down!" 

"Well...I think we should meet this guy just to make sure he's okay." 

"He's fine!" Mimi assured him. "Yamato-san is the one who asked me to go to the dance with him and I've known him for almost five years now." 

" The local celebrity?" 

"Yeah, he's the one that called." 

"He's fine, dear. Yamato-kun is a very nice young man. I'm sure you would approve of him." 

"Um, hehehe," the man laughed nervously. "I'm sorry about the outburst." 

"That's okay," Mimi smiled at him, not at all upset. "You're just acting like a typical father. Mine would act the same way. He used to get over protective of me whenever I would hang out with my old friend Michael and we were only friends." 

Mimi's aunt laughed and nodded in agreement. 

"Tell me about it!" the woman said as she added some food to her plate. "Your father used to _always_ keep his eye on me when it came to boys and I'm just his sister! Dating was difficult for me with him around. He would grill the guys time they walked into the house. Oh, and your grandfather was even worse!" 

"With the way _they_ were, I'm surprised we actually had time to actually go out for the night," Kichibei laughed shortly. He then scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit foolish. "I think I picked up on a couple of their habits." 

"At least it wasn't a daily thing," Sué said, remembering when she and Kichibei first dated as teens. "After the first few times--in other words, the first few months--they left us alone and realized that you were a good guy." 

"I had no idea that grandpa was like that too." 

"Yep, my father was exactly like that, only more strict. He was _very_ strict on the dating policy and a bunch of other things and was very overprotective of his daughters. That is probably why Hanako went out on her own the way that she did due to her feeling that she was being smothered and closed in by my father's rules. Mom agreed with everything dad said, so she wasn't much help in these situations. Both were very old fashioned, which pretty much explains why they were both so strict. Hanako moved to China after finishing her last year in school on some special exchange program and hasn't been heard from since; well, not much anyway. I haven't heard from her in few years now and I don't even know if she has Keisuke's address in America. I don't even know if she has children or if she ever married or not." 

"How come I never met Aunty Hanako, momma?" 

"Because she lives far, far away, dear, that is why. China is another country, like Mimi used to live before moving here with us. It takes a very long time to get there and you have to spend all day in a plane just to get there." 

"That sounds boring! I wouldn't want to sit in a plane all day!" 

"Neither would I, but I think going to see my sister is a good enough reason to spend all day in a plane." 

Ton started to cry for more juice so Kichibei got him some. 

"There ya go!" The man smiled. 

Ton laughed happily and accepted the juice cup from his father. 

"Is Aunty Hanako nice?" 

"Yep, she is very nice, smart, and was a pretty good tutor too when she was in High School. She tutored the majority of her class." 

"Do you know Aunty Hanako, neechan?" 

"Nope, I've never met her. Dad doesn't talk about her much either." 

Tachikawa Hanako was the younger sister of both Keisuke and Sué. She was the rebel of the three Tachikawa siblings and hated the strict ways of her parents and the first chance she got, she moved away. She now still resides in Hong Kong as a school teacher. 

"Maybe she'll come back one day. It _would_ be nice to see her again..." 

The woman sighed as they all continued with their dinners...   
****   
Over at the Izumi home, more calls kept coming in from everyone Koushirou had called. Ones from Taichi, Sora, and Jou. They were all told the same exact thing; Koushirou had gone to bed. All three felt that it was strange that Koushirou would go to bed so early and that something _had_ to have been wrong for him to bother calling them in the first place. 

"I wonder why Koushirou called all of his friends and what he wanted." 

"No phone was a part of his punishment!" Mr. Izumi muttered in annoyance. 

"I know, but I guess it _is_ tempting since he _does_ have a phone in his room!" Mrs. Izumi responded irritably and sarcastically. 

"Okay, okay," the man said, trying his best to stay calm. "I should have taken the phone away." 

"You should have done _that_ in the first place!" she snapped at him. 

"Okay, I _will_ first thing in the morning!" 

"Fine!" 

The woman stormed into the kitchen and opened up the carton of Strawberry Ice Cream that he had brought for her. 

"Um, Yoshie...are you feeling okay?" 

The woman muttered in annoyance as she went through the kitchen drawers, looking for a spoon. When she found it, she took it from out of the drawer and slammed it shut. 

"I'm _fine_!" 

The woman dipped the spoon right into the carton and started to eat out of it. 

"If you'd like, I could get you a small bowl, or maybe I cou..." 

"I'm _fine_, I said!" 

The woman swallowed another spoon of ice cream while Mr. Izumi backed off. She was very irritable at that particular moment and her being pregnant wasn't helping her irritability either. As a matter of fact, her being pregnant was making her irritability worse. She really didn't feel like being bothered. She was mad at the fact that Koushirou had disobeyed them by making phone calls. What she _really_ wanted to do was knock the door down and to throw away the lock he kept on it constantly. She knew that a boy his age is entitled to his privacy, but this was too much. 

"Dear, I think you should get some rest..." 

Mrs. Izumi ignored her husband and took the ice cream and sat at the dining room table. Mr. Izumi didn't know what to do with his wife. He didn't want her to stress herself out or anything. That could be bad for herself and the growing baby. 

"Yoshie?" 

"He has to come out of there sometime and I am _not_ leaving until he does! He didn't eat any dessert and he didn't eat much for dinner! He is going to have to get hungry sooner or later or even if he _doesn't_ leave for food, he has to at _least_ go to the bathroom!" 

The man walked over to his irritable wife and hugged her gently. 

"I think we should go out and take a walk...to help cool you off." 

"I rather I didn't!" the woman said, getting from out of his grasp. "I am _not_ leaving this spot until Koushirou comes from out of that room!" 

"But..." 

"You can go out if you want, but I'm staying!" the woman said in obvious annoyance, growing crankier and more irritable by the second. "And while you are out, I want some Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, and some Butter Pecan Ice Cream, and I want you to get me nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream, and every other ice cream topping you can find! I have a taste for them!" 

The man didn't want to make her more annoyed than she already was, so he agreed to it. He was just hoping that his wife wouldn't do anything foolish while he was gone. 

"First she seemed helpless and upset, now she's madder than Koushirou's school principal when he crashed all of the computer lab's computers trying to upload files at the same time to the school's server for his Computer Club. I do _not_ remember her having these kinds of mood swings the first time she was pregnant. At least I _do_ know that she's okay. All she craved was ice cream the first time she was pregnant," he said to himself. 

The man was about to walk out of the door to get all that his wife asked for. He then called to her and said, "You can come with me if you would like." 

"No, go!" she told him. She then started to speak to him as if he was that of a young child. "I am going to stay here until our _son_ leaves that room! What do you _not_ understand about that!?!" 

The man shrugged and left. 

"I'm going to talk to him before this night is out whether he wants to or _not_!" the woman muttered as she stared down the hallway towards Koushirou's room...   
****   
Odaiba Junior High... 

It was very dark out now and Koushirou figured that his school would have been closed by now, but he didn't care. He had to find his article about his parents before he even _thought_ about going to see Mimi. That information was just too vital to him, even if he _hadn't_ read the entire article yet. Another thing on his agenda was to drop by the Inoue's place to talk with Miyako and to apologize for his being so rude over the phone. Being rude was not his thing seeing as how he is always polite and courteous. The only exception to his being rude was everything dealing with Anje and how she had literally pushed him over the edge. 

The boy knew that all he had to do was to go down to the computer lab and look for his article. He was pretty much retracing his steps and the computer lab was the last place he remembered seeing it before he acted stupid around Mimi after she had shared her exciting news with him. 

Right now, he was trying to figure out a way to get onto the school grounds. He hadn't thought of a way on how to get onto them. 

After he locked up his bike, he stopped to think for a moment as he leaned against the gate that surrounded the school. The next thing Koushirou knew, he was lying flat on his back on the school grounds. The gate's doors weren't locked. 

The boy got up to inspect the door and smiled. 

"This must be my lucky day! Whoever was responsible for locking up, didn't do so correctly." 

He decided to close the gate door back and to get back to his original task, hoping that he wouldn't draw any attention to himself or alert anyone. As he continued towards the main doors of Odaiba Junior High, he was getting pretty nervous and had the feeling that something was going to happen, but he dismissed that thought. 

When he got to the main doors, just like he expected them to be, they were locked. Luckily, the boy came prepared and dug through his jacket pocket. 

"This ought to work..." 

He pulled a small, shiny object from his pocket and got an evil smirk on his face. For some odd reason, he had a copy of the school's key. 

"I knew that having a copy of the school's key would come in handy one day." 

*He always kept one. All teachers and instructors trusted him enough to hold keys for them--he just went on and made copies of them--just in case they were to lose the original copies, but it never came up and he just kept them himself. It's just like the time when all of the children went to the Digital World without telling him, and how he was sitting there, waiting for them when they got back. He had broken into Odaiba Elementary to do so. 

After he unlocked the door, he navigated the dark hallway, looking for the Student Computer Lab. He _knew_ that that would be locked and he had a key for that since he was the Computer Club's President. In other words, he had permission to have a key to the lab. 

It was difficult, but he managed to find the Computer Lab in the dark hallway. He was now trying to find the key to the lab. He had five keys on him: his house key, the copy of the Odaiba Junior High's key, a copy of Odaiba Elementary's key, his bike key, and the Student Computer Lab key. After he had tried all of the keys, one of them opened the door to the lab. He walked in slowly and turned on the light, his first major mistake. Somebody had seen the light and had run off to get help instead of inspecting the scene. 

Meanwhile, Koushirou was still searching around for the article that he knew he had probably dropped. He looked and he looked, but he couldn't find a thing. He searched for a pretty good while, until he finally just gave up. 

He decided to check his locker and hoping that maybe he had put it there without realizing it. When he stood up, he heard someone shout out, "Stop!!" 

The boy turned around slowly to see a guard and a janitor standing at the door of the Comptuer Lab. 

"You're under arrest for trespassing and attempted robbery!" the guard shouted. 

"_What_!?!"   
******************************************************************************************************************************************* 

Comments

Note 1: That pretty much translates to "Good evening, uncle." I don't know if I mentioned that before or not. 

I guess I should put up a list of those types of names that I am going to use throughout the rest of this fic, even though I probably should have done this earlier. 

Otou: Father   
Okaa: Mother   
Oji: Uncle   
Oba: Aunt   
Onii: Brother   
Onee: Sister   
Ojii: Grandfather   
Obaa: Grandmother 

Now, the honorifics at the end of those can vary depending on the character. Take Iori for example. He calls his grandfather, "ojiisama" as opposed to "ojiisan," or "ojiichan," etc. Probably because of his politeness and great respect for him. 

Or Takeru and Hikari with their brothers like I mentioned earlier. Takeru, as a young child, always referred to Yamato as "oniichan" and Hikari always addressed Taichi as "oniichan." When the two are older, Hikari still addresses Taichi as "oniichan," but Takeru, since he is older, refers to Yamato as "niisan." Jou is the same way with his brothers for the original as well. When referring to his brothers, he called them Shin-niisan and I'm guessing it was the same way for Shuu. I've never heard him address him before, mainly because I've never actually seen an episode where they intereacted with one another. 

Now, the only reason I am using "ojisan" for Mimi when referring to her uncle as opposed to "ojichan" or anything like that, is because he was married into the family, not a blood relative like her aunt, which is why I have Mimi referring to her as "obachan."   
***   
Note 2: Okay, I know, unbelievable, right? Well, in that ep of 02 when Hikari was stuck in the Digital World, Koushirou _did_ get into the school somehow. He was mad because no one had informed on what was going on and when the others, along with Taichi, got back from the Digital World, he was sitting there. I didn't even think about that until somebody brought it up at Megchan's Digimon Message Board. I had forgotten all about that episode. I think him obtaining a key for his own personal use is a bit, well, nicer than him actually breaking and entering. ^^ 


	21. Koushi the Criminal!

Thanks for the reviews everyone. I really appreciate them. ^_^ 

I want to apologize because I meant to have this up earlier, but it just slipped my mind to. I thought I had actually, til I noticed that I hadn't sent out any e-mails about it. So here is this part now. 

As always, I do not own any of the characters of this story and never will. :-p   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 21: Koushirou the Criminal! "You Are Under Arrest!"

Koushirou was still searching around for the article that he knew he had probably dropped. He looked and he looked, but he couldn't find a thing. He searched for a pretty good while, until he finally just gave up. 

He decided to check his locker and hoping that maybe he had put it there without realizing it. When he stood up, he heard someone shout out, "Stop!!" 

The boy turned around slowly to see a guard and a janitor standing at the door of the Comptuer Lab. 

"You're under arrest for trespassing and attempted robbery!" the guard shouted. 

"_What_!?!" 

"Or is that attempted trespassing and high robbery?" the guard asked in confusion. 

The guard looked to be a child himself; about college aged. He had a zit infested face and a cracking voice like he had just hit puberty. 

"Now, don't go anyplace!" his voiced cracked. "You are under arrest!" 

The janitor, who had run off to get the guard, was sweatdropping at the scene. 

"What an idiot," he muttered. 

"Hold on now," the guard said as he went through his pockets. "I just have to find those handcuffs." 

The guard was pulling everything from out of his pockets: pens, candy wrappers, pencils, and a bunch of other useless things. 

"Don't you move now! I have you surrounded." 

Koushirou couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't even know if he should take the guy seriously or not, but when the guard pulled out a gun, he started to panic. He put his arms up into the air and started to speak very nervously and quickly. One could barely understand him since he was running his words together. 

"Nosirit'snotwhatyouthinkIamnotheifIamastudentofthisschool!" 

"Sure, that's what they _all_ say!" the guard said as he started to shake his gun at the 14 year old. "Move it pal." 

Koushirou continued to plea with the guard, trying to prove his innocence, but the guard just didn't buy it and went back to shaking his gun at Koushirou. The boy felt his heart stop as he saw what had happened next. The gun went off. The young redheaded boy opened his eyes, since when the gun went off, he had closed them. He was wondering why he wasn't in any pain. He then saw the Janitor's look and then looked at the gun. 

"What kind of a guard _are_ you!" the janitor yelled. "That's a water gun!" 

"Oops, I was playing with my kid brother and we always have water gun fights. He's about eight years old. I guess I took his water pistol by mistake." 

The guard laughed nervously as he tossed the useless gun aside. 

"How in the world did you even _get_ this job?!?" 

Koushirou was wondering the same thing. 

"My uncle got me this job!" the boy smiled proudly, his voice cracking more than ever. "He's the Chief of the Odaiba Night Officers Association." 

"Why me," the janitor muttered while shaking his head. 

"Ooh! I found my handcuffs. I had them on my wrist the entire time. Silly me," he smiled nervously. 

"Oh-kay," Koushirou sweat dropped. 

"Now, put on these handcuffs, kid." 

"Why won't you all listen to me! You didn't read me my rights and I _know_ I have them, you know!" 

"I don't have to; besides, I don't remember that long speech." 

"Why am I not surprised," both Koushirou and the Janitor muttered. 

"You are breaking and entering and that's all I need to know!" 

Right at that moment, some more people ran the school to where Koushirou was. It was the _real_ Odaiba Police Force and their guns _were_ real. 

"Thank goodness! Some _real_ cops!" the janitor sighed out in relief. 

He looked over at the guard who had just tripped over his untied shoelaces trying to cuff Koushirou, which didn't serve any purpose; he ended up handcuffing himself to the computer chair that was right behind Koushirou when he tripped and fell. 

"Pathetic," the Janitor said. 

"I'm glad he isn't a real cop," Koushirou muttered to himself. 

"Freeze," the first cop shouted. 

"Don't try anything funny, kid!" the third cop ordered. 

"This is the LCPD! You are risking your life! If you do not stop, we will open fire!" the second cop said in English. 

Everyone gave the cop a look, minus Koushirou since he was somewhat terrified as of the moment from the 'open fire' statement. His English may have been limited, but Koushirou knew what 'open fire' meant. The cop smiled nervously as everyone stared at him. 

"Gomen," he apologized, going back to Japanese. "I have been playing the old American version of Grand Theft Auto III lately since I haven't been able to play that old Vice City version yet." 

"Anyway, kid, don't try anything stupid, like running away," the first cop warned. 

"Please, I can explain why I am here," Koushirou literally begged them. 

"There have been quite a few breakins into schools around this district lately and all of the theives always go for computer and hi tech equipment," the first cop explained. "We have now caught our man...er boy." 

"I am telling you, I am not the person you are looking for! I am a student of this school" 

"What would a child such as yourself being doing here after school hours?" the third cop asked. 

"Let's just book him and take him downtown," the second cop said, anxious to arrest him. 

"An excellent suggestion," the janitor agreed. "We'll get to the bottom of this." 

"No, please!" he pleaded. "Don't put me in _jail_!" 

"Um...a little help here..." the guard said, waving his arm around, trying to get some attention. 

No one noticed him. 

"Okay, explain what you are doing here," the first cop asked. 

"Do you _have_ to hold those guns so close to me?" Koushirou asked nervously. 

"Put them away, guys," the first cop instructed. 

The other two cops did as they were instructed and put their guns away and Koushirou put his arms down. 

"Okay, now explain." 

Koushirou cooperated and explained how he was there looking for his news article for his class project. He even booted up the computer to show them the school's webpage and proved that he was, indeed, a student of the school as well as the Computer Club President. His photo was there and beside his was Miyako's since she was the Computer Club's Vice President. 

"I guess his story checks out after all," the second cop said, calming down some. 

"But how did he get into the school?" the janitor asked. 

"Um, the doors were open?" he laughed nervously, his face turning red. 

"Do your parents know that you are here?" the first cop asked. 

"Um, yes. Of course they do," he sweat dropped nervously. 

Neither one of the adults in the room really believed him. They doubt that any parent would allow their child to literally break into a closed off building. 

"We are going to let you go, son, but we don't ever want to catch you on school grounds after hours again without permission!" the third cop told him. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Just think, you could have been shot by us!" the first cop said. 

"I promise to never do it again!" He then bowed. "Gomen nasai!" 

"That's good, now we must escort you home, Mr. Izumi," the first cop informed him. 

Koushirou got a nervous look on his face. He couldn't let these cops take him home. He would _really_ get it from his parents if they did. 

"No, that is not necessary!" 

"Actually, it is," the first cop explained. "If we apprehend a child after hours, it is our job to make sure he gets home safely." 

"But I rode my bike and I should really get it back and---." 

"Nonesense," the third cop interrupted. "We will just put it in the trunk. Now, let's get going." 

"But, I really haven't learned my lesson and I feel that jail would be much better than your taking me home, and---" 

"Let's go!" the second cop shouted, his patience growing thin. 

"Hai," Koushirou frowned. 

The cops escorted Koushirou out, but before leaving, they told the janitor to lock up more carefully. He nodded as he shut out the lights and locked the computer lab door. 

"Hey...I'm in here...don't forget about me!" the guard shouted out in an annoyingly squeaky pitch. 

Nobody noticed. ^^ 

Koushirou led the cops to where his bike was locked up. He unlocked it as they loaded it into the squad car. He frowned at the entire thing. Right now, he would rather the cops take him to jail than back home to his parents, especially his mother. He realized that, by his sneaking out, he hadn't accomplished anything. The only thing he had accomplished was getting himself into more trouble...   
****   
After their dinner, Mimi went back up to her room to make some return calls, but she was planning on calling Miyako first. She hadn't really talked to her in a while and she really didn't know what was going on with Koushirou lately. She felt that she had the right to know. Besides, she had promised to let her in on everything that was going on. 

It was close to 8:30 when she called the Inoue household, which was answered by Mrs. Inoue. 

"Good evening, Mrs. Inoue." 

"Hi there, Mimi. How are you?" 

"I'm fine, thanks. Is Miyako-chan around?" 

"My husband just left a while ago to relieve her of duty. She should be coming back up any moment now." 

"Relieve her of duty?" 

"She volunteered to watch the mart. It's getting a bit late and I don't want her down there too long." 

Right at that moment, an annoyed Miyako entered the Inoue home. She didn't want to stop working, she wanted to stay in the mart to work. She still wanted to be by herself for a while and having her mom and two sisters around wasn't going to help her any. 

"Miyako just walked in, I'll go get her." 

With that, the middle aged, glasses wearing woman held her hand over the receiver and called her youngest child over. The girl obeyed, reluctantly, and walked over to her mother who was holding the phone. 

"Phone call for you." 

She handed Miyako the phone who frowned. 

"I don't feel like talking right now," the girl said sullenly. "I want to go back to working in the mart." 

"You are not going to work into the night by yourself, young lady! I know how much you want your independence and how to be responsible, and adult like, but part of being an adult is knowing when to quit and knowing what your limitations are. A girl your age has no business working in a store, by herself, late at night. Besides, it _is_ a school night. You have to get ready for school tomorrow. I will not have you working until 10:00 at night when we close up!" 

"Yes ma'am," she sighed. 

"Here, answer it," Mrs. Inoue told her as she handed her the phone. 

"Who is it?" Miyako asked, taking the phone. 

"Mimi." 

The woman smiled at her daughter. 

"That should cheer you up. You're always happy to talk with Mimi." 

Miyako forced on a smile and nodded in agreement. She wasn't so sure if a call from Mimi would cheer her up or not. Now if it were Hikari, or Sora, or any of her other friends from school, she was pretty sure that it would have. 

"Hey," the girl responded slowly. 

"Hey Miyako-chan. I'm glad I caught you. I really wanted to talk to you." 

"What about?" 

The girl on the other end laughed. 

"What?" 

"Are you _serious_?" Mimi asked in surprise. "What have you been asking me about a lot lately?" 

Miyako remained quiet. She really wasn't in the mood for guessing games. 

"Koushirou of course! I _did_ promise you and Sora-san that I would keep you up-to-date with all that we are going through. Sora-san currently knows more than you do now, though." 

"So, what's going on with him?" 

The older girl had the feeling that something was wrong with Miyako. Her tone sounded somewhat distant and a bit upset. 

"Before I start talking about him, how about telling me what's wrong with you." 

"There is nothing wrong with me." 

"Don't lie. You sound as if you are down about something. Tell me." 

"I'm fine, really. I've just been stressed out from all of this school work we have been getting lately, that's all." 

She didn't really believe Miyako, but it was obvious that that was as far as Miyako was going to go so she dropped it. 

"Did you talk with Izumi-senpai yet?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"He called over here looking for you." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah." 

"Any idea why?" 

"No, not really," she sighed. "He just said that it was very important that he find you." 

"That just doesn't make any sense! Why would he go out of his way to try and get in touch with me and then not be around when I call him?" 

"I don't know," she shrugged. "So, what did you call for?" 

"Well, I was just hoping to chat for a while and let you in on what's going on with Koushirou..." 

"I _would_ chat but I'm kind of tired from running the store." 

"Oh, I see. I'll just talk to you later. Maybe tomorrow at school." 

"Yeah, maybe..." 

"Well, see you." 

"Yeah, see ya..." 

The glasses wearing girl hanged up the phone as she frowned. Talking to Mimi was a mistake. She just found herself getting more and more jealous of her, even though she didn't realize it. 

"That was fast," Mrs. Inoue said. "What did you two talk about?" 

"Nothing mom," the girl lied with a forced smile on her face. "She was just asking about a shirt that she lent me. She was wondering if I could give it back." 

"Oh, I guess that wouldn't take up much time." 

"Well, I'm going to bed." 

"But you didn't eat any dinner." 

"I ate some snacks while in the store." 

"What did your father and me tell you about taking snacks and drinks from the store?!?" 

"Not to do it," the girl sighed out since she had been told that a numerous amount of times. 

"Exactly, and it's going to come out of your pay!" the woman scolded. "What did you have?" 

"A juice pack and a small bag of chips." 

"That's not much! You have to eat something else besides that! March _right_ into that kitchen and eat some of the dinner your sister cooked." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

The girl did as she was instructed and headed to the kitchen to eat leftover dinner. 

Afterwards, she headed towards her room that she shared with Chizuru and shut the door. She was still up with Momoe watching television and talking about boy bands. 

Miyako just sat in her room and cried. She still didn't understand what was wrong with her and right now; she _really_ disliked both Koushirou _and_ Mimi, but not as she did Koushirou currently...   
****   
Mr. Izumi had finally made it back home to the not so perfect home of his with lots of ice cream for his expecting wife. He wasn't sure if he wanted to enter the apartment or not. The walk was a peaceful one and it was nice _not _hearing his wife yelling or acting irritable. He had a very strong feeling that his wife was going to be arguing and yelling when he walked in the door. 

"Well, here it goes," the man braced himself. 

The man opened the front door and walked in. He didn't hear any arguing, so he figured that everything was okay. 

"Yoshie, Koushirou...I'm back!" 

The man closed the door as he stepped out of his shoes. He decided to go check on his wife and she was sound asleep, with her head layed down on the table that he had left her sitting at when he left. 

"I guess all of the waiting around tired her out. I'm sorta glad that she is. She really shouldn't be stressing herself out, especially with her being pregnant..." 

He decided to go to the kitchen to put all of the cartons of ice cream away before they melted. After he had done that, he went back to check on Mrs. Izumi who was still asleep at the table. 

"Wake up, I'm back," he gently shook her. 

The woman moaned a bit and sat up. She rubbed the sleep away from her eyes and stretched her arms. As her vision cleared, she saw that of her husband. 

"Hey, dear," Mrs. Izumi yawned. 

"I'm surprised you're still sitting here. Want to go to bed? You could use some rest." 

The woman was about to take the man up on his offer, until she remembered why she was sitting there to begin with, to talk with Koushirou. 

"No!" she said sternly. "I still haven't talked with Koushirou yet!" 

The man remained calm and tried his best to reason with his irritable wife once again. 

"Why don't we just talk with him in the morning?" 

"Because I want to talk with him _now_!" 

"You know, rest is good for those in your condition and it's good for the growing child. You should really relax." 

Expecting her to snap at him, she did something totally unexpected. She agreed with him. 

"Maybe you are right," she said, yawning once again. "This can wait until in the morning or until after school. I wouldn't want him to go to school, not being able to concentrate." 

The man nodded. 

"I'm glad you see things my way," he smiled. 

The two started to head towards their room to go to bed, until they heard a knock at their front door. 

"I wonder who that could be this time of night." 

The man shrugged, as he went to the door and asked who it was with Mrs. Izumi right by his side. She was curious too. 

"Who is there?" he asked. 

"This is Officer Touchika of the Odaiba Police Force, sir." 

"The police?" Mrs. Izumi wondered. "Why would _they_ be here?" 

"We have your son..." 

"_What_!?!" the two parents said in unison and shock. 

They opened the door and sure enough, there stood a semi tall, redheaded 14-year-old boy, with a goofy, nervous, grin on his face with a cop standing right behind him. 

"_Kou_shirou!!!" Mrs. Izumi said in dissapointment. 

"Um...hi?" the boy sweat dropped nervously. 


	22. Koushirou's Resignation!

Everyone's favorite computer genius just got brought home by the cops! Where did we all go wrong! :-p lol 

In ref to one person's review, I am the _same_ exact way! I love it when Koushirou or Jou ends up in some kind of trouble since they're the "good" ones of the group. lol You have to love the goody two shoes messing up. lol. I guess I owe you all an apology. I've been so wrapped up with other things, the anime X for one ^^, I must thank my pal DavidAP for that! He's the one that got me into it! lol I kinda slacked off with this fic. My other ones too. Just to let you all know, if you ever want to know when I update this fic, or any other fic, just check my ff.net bio, or leave your e-mail so I can inform you of when I actually upload a new part. I have a mailing list that I use to inform everyone of when I update any of my fics. That is one feature I miss that ff.net no longer has for free. I relied on Author Alerts a lot, not only with my fics for people to read, but with everyone else's as well for _me_ to read. 

Oh, I just thought I'd inform you that I am writing on a Joumi fic and I have uploaded the first two parts to it. Jou is trying to find a way to impress Mimi, but surprisingly, the one to give him the "good" advice, isn't all that much of an expert on the subject of love. If any of you are interested, read. ^_^ 

Well, like I always say, I do not anything dealing with Digimon in general.   
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Part 22: Koushirou's Resignation! "I Am No Longer An Izumi!"

The two started to head towards their room to go to bed, until they heard a knock at their front door. 

"I wonder who that could be this time of night." 

The man shrugged, as he went to the door and asked who it was with Mrs. Izumi right by his side. She was curious too. 

"Who is there?" he asked. 

"This is Officer Touchika of the Odaiba Police Force, sir." 

"The police?" Mrs. Izumi wondered. "Why would _they_ be here?" 

"We have your son..." 

"_What_!?!" the two parents said in unison and shock. 

They opened the door and sure enough, there stood a semi tall, redheaded 14-year-old boy, with a goofy, nervous, grin on his face with a cop standing right behind him. 

"_Kou_shirou!!!" Mrs. Izumi said in dissapointment. 

"Um...hi?" the boy sweat dropped nervously. 

The two adults were in incredible shock. Their only child was being brought home by the police! They imagined that that could _never_ happen to _their_ child, mainly because he never caused trouble. 

Of course nearby neighbors of the Izumis heard the commotion and saw the flashing red lights outside and were nosing around. They were also surprised to see a cop standing at the door of the Izumis with Koushirou as if he had just been escorted home.   
****   
"Usa-san, look out the window at the Izumi's," a neighbor of the Izumis' told another neighbor over the phone. 

"Oh my goodness, Yori-san!" Usa said in surprise as she looked out of her window. "Is that a police officer at their home?!?" 

"Yes, I can't believe it!" Yori said in amazement. "Their son is being escorted by a _cop_!" 

"Hold on, Yori-san, I have another call." The woman changed over to the other line to see who it was that called her. It was another neighbor of hers and she was telling her the news. "Yes, I know, Mako-san!" 

"It's a shock," Mako said. "The Izumis are the perfect family!" 

"There has been a lot of arguing going on over there I hear," Yori told the other two. "And Yoshie-san hasn't been her usual outgoing self when at the market." 

"Strange," Mako said. She then got another call. "Hold on, I have another call." She checked to see who it was, who was also blabbing away over what she was seeing. "Yes, I know, Mina-san. We are all shocked." 

"What in the world did that boy do?" Mina asked. 

"I'm going to talk with Yoshie-san in the morning when we go marketing," Mako decided. "We always go on Thursday." 

"I just may join you," Mina said. "I normally go on Fridays, but I'll make an exception this time!" 

More and more gossipy housewives of the apartment complex, which was quite a bit here, kept making calls, talking about seeing the Izumi's son being escorted home by a cop.   
****   
"What was he doing?" Mrs. Izumi asked with no emotion. 

"We caught your son at Odaiba Junior High. He was lucky that we wasn't _shot_ by us! As you know, there have been a lot of break-ins in the school districts around here and we thought that your son was the one responsible for them since he _was _in the school's computer lab. Not to worry though, his story checked out so he's okay." 

"Um, thank you officer," Mr. Izumi said, still a bit shocked over the situation. 

"Sure thing," the officer said. He then tipped his hat to them. "G'night sir, madam..." 

"I don't sense anything _good_ about it," Koushirou muttered to himself. 

After the cop left, a couple of exasperated, not to mention disappointed, parents looked at their young, will probably not reach the age of 15, son. 

"Maybe Officer Touchika will arrest me if I chase him down with my bike and cause a ruckus and get me on a disturbing the peace charge," Koushirou said to himself, trying to find a way out the situation he was in. "_Any_thing is better than staying here with these two right now!" 

The boy noticed the looks on his parents' faces. 

"I have disappointed them again," he sighed. 

Mr. Izumi was _about_ to say something but Mrs. Izumi didn't give him the chance to!   
****   
RP: I think I hear the Taps theme playing. >_ 

Koushirou: (Sarcastic tone) Oh, thank you _so_ much RP for the reassurance on my not getting out of here alive. 

RP: Oh you are _so_ welcome. Besides, you actually think that you will?!? You were just brought home by the cops _and_ you were grounded at the time _and_ you have been keeping secrets and lying!! :-p 

Koushirou: -_-   
****   
"Don't you say anything, young man!" the woman argued. "Boy do you have a lot of explaining to do! I want you to tell me _what_ exactly was going through your head when breaking into your own school!" 

"I told you that I needed my English textbook!" 

"_More_ lies?!? When are you going to stop!?! I know that you wouldn't get yourself into trouble over some irrelevant book! Do you think your father and I are _stu_pid? Do you know how embarrassed I was to see _my_ son being escorted home for committing a crime?!? You are _so_ lucky that you weren't charged with anything. The officer that just left said that you could have been killed!! You are lucky that they didn't shoot you! My son would never do something so, so…so _stu_pid and inconsiderate! _What_ were you thinking!" 

The boy lowered his head. He hadn't been thinking of the consequences, but he did have a reason for going to his school. 

"You _weren't_ thinking, that's not like you," the woman continued. "What is wrong with you? Embarrassing your father and me like that! What will the neighbors think of such a thing? I know Mina-san probably saw you! She's the town gossip! I can't face anybody now because of you, Koushirou! First you lie, now you are breaking into places! What are you going to do next, _steal_?" 

"Gomen nasai," the boy apologized quietly. 

"How do I know that you aren't lying now? I don't even want to _look_ at you right now! You aren't my son, you are some clone of him! My son would _never_ do the things that you have been doing lately!" 

Mr. Izumi, who had been quiet the entire time, spoke up. The woman was being pretty harsh and hard on Koushirou, but her mood was certainly understandable. She was mad but from the things she was saying, pretty much, showed that she was more so disappointed than anything else. 

"Koushirou, are you keeping secrets because of your friend Mimi?" he asked. 

"What does Mimi-san have to do with anything?" Koushirou asked in defense. "She hasn't done anything wrong." 

"Then why are you keeping so many secrets from us?" the man asked. "I really feel that we should talk about whatever your problem is, unless you don't have anything to say to us." 

The boy lowered his head and muttered, "No." The man sighed as he looked at his only son. He was really hoping that Koushirou would open up and get whatever it was that was bothering him out in the open. He still remained calm, though. 

"I think you should go to your room now, Koushirou, while your mother and I discuss what we should do with you." 

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," the woman started, growing irritable again, "I want to know _how_ you got out and I want you to unlock your door _right_ now! Your secret keeping days are over! Until you prove that you are my son again and can earn my trust again, just forget about keeping your door locked and no phone until I say so and you can kiss your computers goodbye!" 

The man frowned at his wife. He wanted to get Koushirou out before his wife says more things that she would probably regret saying later after she cools down. 

Koushirou, on the other hand, had grown annoyed with her yelling at him as if everything he had done was his fault. He knew that it was partially, but it was his parents' even more for not being honest with him. He then did something that surprised not only himself, but his parents as well. He argued back; worse than what he had when he first gotten grounded. He also said some things that he _knew_--not in his current state, though--that he would regret ever saying later. 

"You know, it would not bother me in the _least_ if you disowned me as your son! Maybe if you two hope enough, you'll have yourselves a son of your own to make up for the disappointment and embarassment I am to you!" 

"Koushirou, stop talking like that!" 

The boy ignored her and kept going. He was upset that his mother had pretty much admitted to wanting to disown him. The one person he could turn to for guidance, understanding, and love, hated him in his eyes. 

"Hey, when you have your new son, he can take my room seeing as how I do not plan on staying around here anyway! I know you two are getting sick of my lies, but I am getting pretty sick and tired of yours! I _do_ learn from the best in the 'lying' department since two liars are raising me!" 

Both of his parents were shocked at the tone Koushirou was using with them. They weren't used of him speaking in such manner. The boy had done something he _never_ had before, insult them. 

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Izumi asked. "How dare you accuse your mother and me of being liars! We do not keep secrets from you!" 

"See, you are lying to me right now! You two have been lying to me as far back as I can remember! As soon as you two stop lying to me, I will start telling you what I have been doing these past few days! I lost my trust in you two, years ago!" 

That hit the young couple hard. They could tell by Koushirou's tone that he was quite serious. Neither one of them knew what to say. 

"If you two will excuse me, I have to go find me a newer place to live. Fortunately, I have a lot of extra cash, not only from this past Sunday--which I still refuse to tell you two about--but the money that I have been saving for the past eight years of my life for just such an emergency or situation. I _did_ want to go out on my own early in life, like when I started High School, but I guess this time is as good as any thanks to this conversation we have just had. At least now you will have your room free for your new child." 

The boy started to head towards the front door of their apartment, muttering in annoyance about the entire situation. Mrs. Izumi looked like she was about to cry, but that soon turned to fury. Right now, all of her emotions were out of whack. She felt like crying, while at the same time, she was angry, while at the same time, furious enough to want to actually _hit_ Koushirou for his selfishness. Mr. Izumi was just speechless. He felt useless in this situation since he couldn't figure out what to do or what to say. 

"Izumi Koushirou, if you go out that door then it is true that you are _not_ my son," Mrs. Izumi threatened. "_My_ Koushirou wouldn't do something so rash!" 

"Tell me something I _don't_ already know!" boy shouted at her furiously. "Even if I _don't_ walk out of that door, I still wouldn't be your son!" 

With that, the boy walked out the door of the apartment, slamming it right behind him. 

"Koushirou?" she asked, after the door closed. 

Her eyes started to well up with tears. Reality had hit her finally and she was now going back to her sad state. Mr. Izumi knew that when she was pregnant before that she was very emotional, but she rarely got angered. 

"What did I just do to Koushirou?" the woman cried. "I made him go away!" 

Mr. Izumi held his wife in his arms as she cried on his shoulder muttering, "What did I do?" over and over again. The woman then broke away from her husband and got a look of worry on her face. 

"Oh my gosh, we have to go and bring him back!" she panicked. "Who will make his lunches just the way he likes them! Who will do his laundry? Who will make his favorite style onigiri for him? He likes the strangest fillings for them!" 

Before Mr. Izumi could respond to his panicky wife's statements, they heard a lock click. The sound came from Koushirou's bedroom door. The two looked to see Koushirou walking away from his room holding a few things, like his cell phone for one. He would have used it earlier to call everyone when looking for Mimi, but he couldn't due to a low battery. It had started to ring, but it cut right off. The battery was still low on it. 

"I promise you that I will find a way of getting out of here by sometime tomorrow. I am sure that it will make you happy. I shall be a nuisance to you no more. I quit as your son!" 

"Koushirou, stop being ridiculous! You are _not_ a nuisance to us and you are not going anywhere except for to bed, which I feel would be a good idea as of the moment." 

No one objected to his suggestion and did as he said. Koushirou headed towards his room and shut the door behind him, but he didn't lock it. Mr. and Mrs. Izumi headed towards their room so that they could talk about what had just happened. Everyone said stuff that neither of them meant. Mrs. Izumi didn't mean to make Koushirou feel unwanted or abandoned. She was just upset and embarrassed. It was like her perfect family was no more and it was the fault of her son. The only son she had had the honor of being blessed with after losing her own. 

Mr. Izumi was pretty quiet over the entire thing and didn't know _what_ to think. He just knew that him and his wife needed to talk about what had just happened. 

"Where did we go wrong?" the woman asked quietly. "When did we lose him? When did he change the way that he has?" 

"What is he keeping from us? Why does he think of us as '_liars_?' What have we ever done to him to make him even _get_ an idea like that!" 

"I wish I knew," Mrs. Izumi said in between sobs. "We have always been open with him and honest." 

"We'll figure something out, don't worry. We just don't know how to react to this since we have never encountered this before as parents." 

"Has our family _really_ grown that far apart?" Mrs. Izumi asked herself. "Have we really grown apart from Koushirou _that_ much?" 

The woman frowned some more and so did her husband. They were so upset over the situation that they hadn't even bothered to ask _how_ Koushirou got back into his locked room. 

"_What_ was I thinking to say such things!" Mrs. Izumi cried to herself. "I'm sorry Koushirou!"   
****   
Koushirou sat in his room, staring up at the ceiling. He was still mad at his parents. He had grown tired of them trying to get into his business. It was quite obvious that he wasn't thinking right. He would _never_ say such things to the two people who took him in and raised him. Deep down, he knew they weren't bad. 

"I can't wait to get out of this place!" he muttered angrily. "I was going to wait another year, but now is as good a time as any!" 

With that, the boy punched his pillow, turned over and went to sleep... 


	23. Case of the Disappearing Redhead!

Here you are, two for the price of one for taking so long to upload the other part, even though I meant to have this up sooner too.^^' 

BTW, how was the last part? I hope it wasn't _too_ unrealistic. The only thing I know about pregnant women is that they do tend to get a bit emotional during certain situations and I think that Mrs. Izumi having mixed emotions would be a tad bit realistic, until I watched an ep of Digimon. I hate it when I do that. I watch an ep, and then I think I have the characters portrayed OOC. 

Sorry I'm dragging this out so much. I just keep getting more and more ideas, which is causing this fic to end up so long. I just hope you all haven't grown bored of this fic yet. Let's just call this a short Epic. :-p Okay, maybe not an Epic, how about a short Fan Novel. :-p 

Okay, I'll pipe down now. Now, as always, I do not own any thing Digimon related and if I did, I would be one very happy, not to mention rich, girl and I wouldn't be writing fics. ^_^   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 23: Case of the Disappearing Redhead!

Mimi, who had just finished talking with Yamato, made one last call, it being to Yuko. She had no idea what the girl could have wanted, but she felt that she should return her call if she had gone through the trouble to make it. 

When she called Yamato, he had told her that Koushirou was looking for her. The girl was really curious now. What could Koushirou have wanted with her? She tried calling him through his cell phone, but she didn't get an answer. Something else her and Yamato talked about was what they could do after the dance and how him, Taichi, Sora, and a few others were going to hang out for the night. The girl agreed to all of it, of course. It sounded like fun and Mimi never turned down having fun. It didn't take the girl long, but she finally got an answer from the Sasaki household. 

"Konban wa, Sasaki-san," Mimi greeted. "How are you?" 

"Hi, Mimi," Mrs. Sasaki greeted back. "I'm doing quite alright, thanks for asking. How about you?" 

"I'm doing okay. I'm just so glad that our Spring Break is coming up soon." 

"I don't blame you for your wanting to see your Spring Break. You guys are doing a lot of testing this year." 

"Sasaki-san, is Yuko-chan there? My uncle told me that she called earlier looking for me, but I wasn't home." 

"Oh, yeah, she's here. Let me go and get her." 

The woman put the phone down to go retrieve her somewhat lazy daughter who was lying around watching television and snacking on chips. In no time at all, Yuko had picked up the phone with a mouth filled with potato chips. 

"Mimi-chan, I am _so_ glad you called," the girl answered, her voice a bit muffled from the mouthful of chips. 

"Huh? Is this Yuko-chan?" Mimi questioned. 

"Sorry," the girl apologized as she swallowed her chips. "I said that I am so glad you called!" 

The girl took a drink of her cola as she listened to Mimi talk. 

"So, what's up?" 

The girl finished her cola and got a mischievous smile on her face. 

"That's what _I_ should be asking you!" the girl cunningly replied. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I heard about you today," she told her. "If she knew that Miyako and me were spying on her, she'd kill us!" the girl thought as she grimaced. 

"Heard about me?" 

"Yeah, about your going to the Senior Dance Friday night!" 

"Oh, that," the girl responded as if it were any other dance. "It really isn't all that big a deal…" 

As of right now, it really wasn't that big a deal. She really wanted to show Koushirou what she had found and share the information that she had. 

"_No_ big deal?" Yuko asked in surprise. "Are you _kid_ding me!?! You're going to one of the biggest events ever held at our school! And to make it even cooler, you are going with Yamato-san of the Teen-Age Wolves! How can that _not_ be a big deal!?!" 

"I guess I'll never be able to see what you all see in Yamato-san because to me, he is just a really good friend." 

"Wish he was _my_ very good friend," the girl said dreamily. 

"I wonder how _good_ a friend she means," Mimi muttered to herself since Yuko _was_ so boy crazy. "It really isn't all that big a deal that we are going to a dance together. He probably would have ended up asking Sora-san if Taichi-san hadn't and if not her, probably Chizuru-san." 

"I still think you guys are lucky to know such a boy!" 

"Don't worry, I am sure that for our Senior Dance next year that some nice, handsome boy will ask you, or maybe Seki-kun or _Yuu_ji-kun." 

The girl turned a beet red after Mimi said that. 

"Na-nani?!?" the girl nearly shouted out in nervousness. "_Those_ two doofuses! I wouldn't want to go out with them to a dance! No way, no how!" 

"Whatever you say, Yuko-chan," Mimi said, a smug smile spread across her face. 

"So, where were you this afternoon?" Yuko asked, trying to get off the subject of Seki and Yuuji being potential dates for herself. "You just took off." 

"I had to work on that project again." 

"Oh, homework with Izumi again," Yuko verified. "Please, let me in on your secret. How _do_ you do it?" 

"Do what?" Mimi laughed. 

"Hook two guys who don't act all obsessed over you…" 

"Yuko-chan, I can assure you that Yamato-san and me, just like Koushirou and me, are nothing more than friends." 

"I wouldn't be surprised if they liked you. I'm not so sure about Yamato-san, but I think the nerd does. I mean, _why_ would Izumi hang around you so much or offer to take you out to dinner if he didn't like you?" 

"Take me out to dinner? I never mentioned that to you." 

Yuko got an "oops" look on her face and sweat dropped nervously. 

"Yuko-chan!" 

"Um, I didn't say anything," the girl said quickly, trying her best to get off of the topic. "Boy oh boy, I can't wait until Spring Break, how about you?" 

"Who told you that Koushirou had taken me out to dinner?" 

"Okay, I won't lie, it was Miyako-san." 

"What else did she tell you?" 

"Nothing actually, just that you and Izumi had been hanging out quite a bit due to your project for Ishidzuka-sensei." 

"Oh. Well, _yes_, he has taken me out to dinner a couple of times to be _nice_. The first time, it was starting to get late and neither one of us had eaten, so he offered to take me out to dinner, and the second time, since we were running late, he just offered to take me out to dinner again." 

"Sugoi!" the girl squealed. "Izumi _so_ likes you, Mimi-chan!" 

"Does not!" Mimi retorted. 

"Does too," Yuko teased in singsong. "Izumi has a thing for you..." 

"You are just crazy," Mimi said with a slight blush. 

"Isn't it ironic that he decided to take you to Hikarigaoaka on White Day? Maybe that was his gift to you! Sunday _was_ March 14!" 

"He didn't take me out to dinner on the 14th, he took me out on the 15th." 

"It was just a trick so you would _think_ it was nothing!" Yuko theorized. "You are just making excuses. You didn't even talk about your White Day presents because you were so hung up over Izumi's!" 

"My room was filled with them when I got home," Mimi said, ignoring the last statement Yuko had made about her being "hung up over Izumi's" present. "My aunt and uncle brought them in for me. I really dislike it, in a way. I always get a bunch of presents, never Obligation Chocolates or candies. It would be nice to get that just once instead of presents from love-crazed boys who want a relationship." 

"But Izumi took you out to dinner! An even _better_ present, not to mention romantic!" 

Mimi sighed as Yuko laughed at Mimi's sudden silence since she couldn't think of a way to defend herself. 

"I'm sorry, Mimi-chan," Yuko apologized, her laughter subsiding a bit, but not completely. "I didn't mean to tease." 

The girl finally stopped laughing and spoke in a calmer manner. 

"Well, I have to get going," Yuko told Mimi. "I'll talk to you in school tomorrow." 

"Okay, ja ne." 

"Sayonara." 

Both girls hanged up the phone. 

"I should have known that it had something to do with a boy," Mimi said as she shook her head at her friend. "I wonder how she found out about my date with Yamato-san anyway..." 

She hanged up the phone and picked it up again, getting a dial tone. Next on her list to call was Sora. 

"Maybe I should just catch her in the morning instead of calling her now. It _is_ getting pretty late and if she wanted to blab about her date, then she would have called me." 

The girl made up her mind to talk with Sora in the morning. Besides, she had to figure out a way to approach Koushirou. She was wondering if he was still sore at her. She really wanted to talk to him, alone. She then got an idea. 

"Hey! I know! I could just go over to the Izumi's and talk with him then. Koushirou probably went to bed early just to get to school early. I can walk with him tomorrow morning to school. I'll just walk the way he would instead! It's strange how I never actually thought to stop by in the mornings. He is the closest to me compared to the others." 

The girl started to go through her clothing. 

"I better get ready for bed if I want to get up early in the morning. Besides, we only have 1 day left to work on this project!" 

The girl hurried to take her bath and into her bedclothes where from there, she hopped into bed and fell into a deep slumber…   
****   
The next morning, Mimi had done exactly what she had set out to do. Get up early to get a head start on school. Getting up early wasn't one of her best habits, but she had been working on that lately. This particular Thursday morning was just the perfect opportunity for her. 

She had no idea what she was getting herself into, though, by going over to the Izumi home. She didn't know about the big argument that had occurred there that preceding night. 

The girl ran down the stairway of her aunt and uncle's home and into the kitchen. Her aunt was already up along with Isako. Mimi normally got up when her aunt was on her way out. Her uncle was normally up by that time. She scared her aunt when she walked into the kitchen. 

"Ohayou Gozaimasu!" she greeted cheerfully and loudly. 

"Neechan!" Isako cheered as she ran up to Mimi, giving her a big hug. 

"Mimi, you scared me!" 

"Gomen, obachan, I didn't mean to scare you." 

"That's alright." The woman looked down at her watch, wondering if she was running late since Mimi was up. Due to her job, she had to get up very early. "You're up much earlier than usual. You're normally getting dressed when the children and me are heading out." 

"I wanted to get to school early," she told her as she took out the juice pitcher from the refrigerator. 

"Any particular reason why?" Sué asked while making toast for both Ton and Isako. 

"I wanted to meet up with Koushirou," she explained. "I couldn't get him on the phone last night. I even tried his cell phone, but it just stopped ringing abruptly." 

"Is Kou-chan sad again?" Isako asked. 

"No, I doubt it," the girl shook her head. "I just have some information for him for the assignment we are working on." 

The girl grabbed a piece of toast and swallowed down the glass of juice she had poured earlier. 

"That's all for me. I better get going. My guess is that he is going to school early since his folks said that he was asleep when I called last night." 

The girl ran to the door and stepped into her shoes. 

"Matte...Mimi-chan!" 

*Note: Matte means, "wait"* 

She didn't hear her aunt call for her. She just ran out the door and shouted, "ja ne!" 

"She should eat and drink more than a slice of toast or a glass of juice." 

"Neechan must have some money on her to get some snacks like candy and cookies and brownies!" 

The girl smiled at the idea and got a sparkly look in her eye. 

"Ooh, can I have some candy and ice cream for breakfast mamii!!" 

"That's even worse," the woman laughed. "No you can not have all of those bad foods for your breakfast. Stick to your toast and cereal." 

"I don't want any cereal today!" 

"Your brother likes it." 

The girl looked over towards her brother who was making more of a mess than actually getting the cereal to his mouth. 

"Cereal is baby food!" 

"Then I must be a baby too because I love eating cereal." 

Mrs. Nishimura sat down and started to eat out of bowl filled with dry cereal. 

"Okay, maybe it isn't baby food," the girl said, gulping down a spoonful of her cereal. 

"That's my girl," Sué smiled at her. "Reverse psychology works every time," she complimented herself. 

The woman stopped eating her cereal to help Ton with his. 

"But ice cream and candy still tastes better," the girl muttered as she went back to her cold breakfast…   
****   
Mimi had finally made it to the Izumi home with lots of time to spare. She still had a good 45 minutes or so before she had to even get to school. The girl knocked on the door of the Izumi apartment. It took a while, which surprised her, but Mr. Izumi groggily answered the door. 

"Ohayou, Izumi-san." 

"Good morning, Mimi," the man yawned. 

"Since you told me Koushirou was asleep when I called last night, I figured that he was planning on going to school early. I decided to walk with him today." 

"Sure, come on in," the man told her, trying his best to act as if nothing had happened the previous night. 

The man walked over to Koushirou's room and knocked on the door while Mimi looked around. She sensed that something was wrong. 

"Koushirou, Mimi is here to see you." 

He didn't get an answer. The man rolled his eyes and sighed out, "Not again." Mimi didn't get what he meant and shrugged to the whole thing. 

After a couple of minutes of knocking, Mr. Izumi opened the bedroom door. Mimi went in with him, even though she knew that there was a chance that Koushirou could've been wearing his bed clothing. What they found when they entered the room was a Koushirou-less one. He wasn't there and by the looks of the room, he had left earlier than she had assumed. 

"I guess he left for school earlier than usual." 

"Well, it's my fault. I should have called to let him know that I was planning on coming over." 

"No, that's okay. He doesn't usually leave _this_ early," Mr. Izumi told her. "Do you want me to get you to school since you came all the way over here?" 

"No thank you. I'll just go by myself," she said, almost regrettably. She still didn't like to be by herself much. 

The girl waved to the man and walked off. She wanted to hurry and leave. She was feeling a lot of tension from Mr. Izumi. He didn't seem like his usual self and she was surprised that the normally cheery Mrs. Izumi hadn't answer the door, which was something that she normally did. She also knew Mrs. Izumi to be the type to get up early, according to Koushirou anyway. She just found it very odd that Mr. Izumi seemed a bit distant and that Mrs. Izumi was no place to be found in the apartment, unless she _did_ sleep in. 

She decided not to worry herself over it and head on to school. Since she had quite a bit of time left, Mimi took her time walking to school. When she got there, she ran into Miyako. She was glad to see a happy face, so she went over to greet her. The smile Miyako had been wearing, didn't last too long. When Mimi greeted her, Miyako told her that she had other things to do and walked off. 

"First Koushirou, now Miyako-chan! It's like people are ignoring or avoiding me today!" 

That feeling of being ignored and avoided didn't last too long. Next to show up was Yamato. 

"Hey, Mimi!" 

"Yamato-san, ohayou" 

The boy started to talk with Mimi, but the girl had tuned Yamato out a bit. He kept trying to get her attention, but one good, 'Mimi!' snapped her out of her pondering state. 

"Oh, gomen," she apologized. 

"What's wrong?" 

The two started to walk down the hall of the big school while Mimi told Yamato what was bothering her. 

"I was just wondering where Koushirou could be. I really need to talk with him." 

"I haven't seen him since Monday or Tuesday. Why are you looking for him anyway?" 

"We were partnered up for this assignment and it is due tomorrow!" 

"Oh," the boy said plainly. "Anyway, if you aren't doing anything today, want to hang out after school?" 

"Sure, but I hope I can get a hold of Koushirou first and hope we don't have to work on anything after school..." 

"You'll probably be fine; besides, you two have the same classes." 

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Mimi said with a laugh, feeling foolish for forgetting such a thing. 

The two spent the rest of the morning talking together in the gym, Mimi getting her mind _off_ of Koushirou and more interested in Yamato. She had never really had a conversation with him before without the others around. It was nice to talk with Yamato for a change. She had no idea he actually _had_ stuff to talk about. She always saw him as a lone wolf and a bit antisocial, but around her, it was the total opposite of what she had always thought of him. 

Mimi also realized that the two had quite a bit in common, from the kind of music they enjoyed, to their semi dislike of attention from crazed fanatics. They also discussed what they could do after school. Yamato wanted to take a walk in the park with Mimi, but he didn't mention that. The park was for couples, "pigeons and lovers," and he knew that him and Mimi were just friends. They both decided that they could hang out at the mall, for a while, get a couple of snacks, and maybe catch a movie, if they had the time. 

The two talked so long, that Mimi had forgotten all about her wanting to meet up with Sora. The bell rang before she could do anything about it, so she told Yamato, "Bye" and ran off to her Homeroom class. She joined up with Ayame and Yuko, like she always did. Ayame started to tease about "Izumi's late White Day present," to Mimi. Yuko had given Ayame her theory on Koushirou's taking Mimi out to dinner and Ayame, apparently, agreed with it. 

"No matter what, you always get White Day gifts, even from boys you _didn't_ give presents to on Valentine's Day and the only guys you actually get Obligation Candies, or Marshmallow Candies from are your 'Male Chosen Friends.'" Yuko sighed. "I envy you..." 

"Don't, I hate all of that attention sometimes." 

The two girls looked at Mimi in surprise. 

"What do you _mean_ you dislike the attention," Yuko asked. "I would _love_ to have that kind of attention from all of the guys in school!" 

"Like I told you before, Yuko-chan, I dislike all of that extra attention because of how the boys act." 

"I still wish I could have it," Yuko muttered. 

"Yeah, but all of those boys want to get into a serious relationship with me and none of them actually _know_ me. The only thing they know about me is that I'm 'pretty,' supposedly. The White Day gifts shows that they are interested on trying to become my boyfriend and feels that by giving me such presents will impress me enough to consider it. Unless I get an actual boyfriend, they will probably never leave me alone, but those same boys never seem to hear me when I say, 'I am not interested in starting a relationship.'" 

"I always thought you liked the attention all of the boys gave you," Ayame stated. 

The girl got a half smile and looked at her two friends. 

"Well, I sorta do, just not all of the time," she told them. She then said to herself, "But because of Sunday, I wouldn't mind not getting that kind of attention at all..." 

Before either girl could respond to Mimi's comment, the second bell rang and their Homeroom Teacher entered the room to start taking the role. 

He was a tall, dark haired man who looked as if he was always depressed or didn't care about anything in general, his job as a teacher included. He always acted as if he regretted ever becoming a teacher and always muttered about how many years he had left until "this nightmare is over." 

"We better quiet down," Ayame warned. "Zeshin-sensei is taking the role, and we _all_ know how he is if we aren't quiet when he's taking the role." 

"Yeah," Yuko agreed, rolling her eyes a bit. "He is _truly_ annoying and is _terribly_ boring! He talks as if he's dead!" 

"Akahito Yuya-san..." the man called. 

"Present!" 

"Mushano Koji-san…" 

"Present!" 

"Ueda Yuuji-san..." 

"Here!!!" Yuuji shouted. 

"My _ears_, Ueda-kun...there is no need to yell." 

"Sorry, Zenshin-sensei," the boy apologized. 

The man sighed and continued on. 

"Tomokazu Seki-san..." 

"Present!" 

The man went through the rest of the list and finally got to Mimi and her friends. The role was set up by the way the students were seated as opposed to their family names. 

"Tachikawa Mimi-san..." 

"Present!" 

"Sasaki Yuko-san..." 

"Present!" 

"Shinohara Ayame-san..." 

"Present!" 

"Good, I'm done, now all of you get ready for your---" 

The man stopped talking abruptly as he saw an arm being waved around in his face. The man sighed in annoyance and called on the student. Everyone in class knew not to get on Mr. Zeshin's bad side or to ask him questions in general since he would snap at you. Everyone felt that Yuuji was brave to raise his hand voluntarily to be called on. 

Yuuji had surprised himself as well that he had spoken up to all people for a fellow student; a fellow student he was quite jealous of, yet he would never admit that to the student or let anyone else know it... 

"What is it, Ueda-kun?" 

"You forgot someone." 

The man sighed in annoyance, wondering why he had even agreed to get out of bed that morning. 

"What are you talking about? Everybody is here, now stop holding up your class. I never make mistakes." 

"No, you forgot someone!" 

Everyone gasped at the way Yuuji was insisting that Mr. Zeshin had made a mistake. 

"Okay, who? Who am I missing if you are so smart, which you probably aren't." 

The boy was expecting him to give one of his cold statements and ignored it. 

"I-I-Izumi," Yuuji stuttered nervously. "He isn't here." 

The other students, who had been wrapped up in their own little conversations and worlds, noticed that Yuuji was right. Koushirou wasn't there. 

"That's a laugh!" he cruelly laughed at Yuuji. "Izumi has had perfect attendance since he first started attending this school. He probably went to the restroom before class." 

Another boy spoke up, a bit nervously. He never liked speaking up to Mr. Zeshin either. 

"I think my cousin may be right, sir," Seki responded hesitantly. 

"What?" 

"I _didn't_ see him this morning and he isn't here now," Seki said, getting a bit more nerve. "He isn't the type to be late to class, especially Homeroom since that is where one's attendance counts the most." 

The boy turned to Mimi who was a few seats behind him. 

"Mimi, have you seen Izumi?" Seki asked. "I know you are paired up with him for that project." 

The girl shook her head guiltily. She was so wrapped in herself, she had completely forgotten about Koushirou. 

"Izumi isn't here?" the man asked in surprise. "This is a-a, well I don't know what to call this! He has _never_ missed a day of school! I just marked him down as here since it is a force of habit." 

The man went to his roster and but a big "A" for absent for Koushirou since he wasn't there. Mimi was now a bit worried since he _wasn't_ there. 

"I wonder where he could be if he didn't come to school?" Mimi asked herself in worry. "I hope nothing has happened to him..." 

Ayame and Yuko looked over at Mimi who seemed to have an uneasy look about her face. The two figured that she was worried about Koushirou and she wasn't the only one. The rest of the students of their class were somewhat worried too. They weren't good friends with Koushirou, but they still respected him as their fellow student and they knew that Koushirou wasn't the type to miss school. They all found it just as strange and also hoped that he was alright. 

"Don't worry, Mimi-chan," Yuko said while giving her a smile. 

"Yeah, he is probably just coming in late today," Ayame added, hoping to ease Mimi's worries. 

The girl gave her two friends a forced smile. She knew that they were just trying to cheer her up, but Mimi knew something had happened or had either gone wrong. The way Mr. Izumi was when she went to the house gave her that impression and there was still the fact that Mrs. Izumi wasn't up and about like her usual, cheery self. 

The day went on, Koushirou still didn't show up at school. Everyone else just figured he was taking a sick day, even though Mimi knew better. When Miyako found out that Koushirou didn't come to school, she was a bit concerned too, although she wasn't as concerned as Mimi. As of lunch that day, she was on speaking terms with Mimi again. An e-mail had convinced her of that. 

During her homeroom, she decided to check her e-mail through her D-Terminal. She saw that she had one from Koushirou and answered it back in record time of course...   
~*~*~*~   
Miyako-kun, 

I am sorry for the way I acted and treated you last night. I didn't mean to seem so rude, but I really was in a hurry and I really needed to get in touch with Mimi-san. Unfortunately, I never did. As you probably already know, Mimi-san is my partner for our History project. I wouldn't be surprised if she told you that already. I had to discuss with her about our presentation and at the time, I had to hurry and get off of the phone. 

So once again, I do apologize for my being so rude and impolite. I hope I did not jeopardize our friendship with my rudeness. I would have apologized in person, but something came up, unfortunately, keeping me from doing so. 

So, no hard feelings? 

~Koushirou~   
~*~*~*~   
After she got the e-mail, she felt that she owed Mimi an apology for her "coldness" towards her, even though Mimi admitted to not really noticing. Mimi had just figured that Miyako had been preoccupied with something that she just didn't want to talk about. 

By the time school ended, Mimi was ready to run over to the Izumi's place to see if Koushirou had gotten home, but she was startled by a few friends of hers... 

"Hey, Mimi, do you still want to hang out with me this afternoon?" 

The girl turned to see a tall blonde-haired boy standing behind her along with three other people. 

"Yamato-san..." 

"Hey." 

"You all scared me," Mimi told them, holding her chest, gasping for air. 

"We're sorry," Sora apologized. "We didn't mean to." 

"That's okay." 

"So, are you still up to hanging out this afternoon?" Yamato asked again. 

"I'm not so sure," the girl frowned slightly. 

"Aww, c'mon," Yamato urged. "You could use a little relaxation. According to everyone, you've been acting a bit stressed out. You even missed Sora's party this past Sunday. You really ought to unwind for a while." 

"But what about Koushirou? What if something has happened to him? I have this terrible feeling that something is wrong." 

"It's probably just your imagination since you, as well as everybody else, isn't used of him missing school," Taichi told her. "You should go along with Yamato." 

"Yeah, it'll help to ease your mind," Miyako added. 

"I really don't know…" 

"Well, _we_ do! Go on ahead, Mimi-chan!" Sora smiled. "You know you love to shop and hang out at the mall." 

"Yes, you're the accessorizer out of the group, you have to go out there and accessorize; especially, since you are going to the dance tomorrow night." 

"Miyako-chan, I don't think 'accessorizor' is an actual word," Sora laughed. 

"Well, maybe it isn't, but Mimi-oneesama really _should_ go just to calm her down a bit." 

"I guess you all are right..." 

"We know we are!" Miyako smiled. 

"Spend the afternoon with Yamato," Taichi told her. "Don't worry about Koushirou. We all know that he missed a day of school. He probably just decided to take a sick day. Everyone deserves a day off sometimes." 

"So, are we still on for this afternoon?" Yamato asked hopefully. 

"You really want me to hang out with you?" 

The boy smiled at Mimi. 

"What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't? I meant it when I asked you this morning and you know I'm pretty serious when it comes to friendships." 

The girl knew how Yamato valued his friendship with all of them, but she was a bit skeptical about going now. She couldn't help it, though. Over the years, she had become much more helpful and considerate towards others and always wanted to try and cheer people up or help them. Deep down, she knew that something was wrong with Koushirou, that he was going through some major crisis and needed some guidance or someone to talk to at least. That's what she was feeling. She didn't sense that he was hurt or in any danger or anything like that. 

The girl thought for a while and then gave in. Maybe she _was_ worrying over Koushirou too much. When she _knew_ something was wrong with Miyako, she hadn't worried over her as much as she was Koushirou. She also thought that it was really sweet that Yamato was being so nice to her. She then smiled at the older boy. 

"Okay, I'll go!" 

"Great! Let's get going! I don't have a practice today since I cancelled it." 

The boy playfully put out his arm and Mimi accepted it. 

"Wow, you're the perfect gentleman!" Mimi laughed. 

"I learn from the best." 

"Me!" Taichi shouted out. 

"No way!" Yamato said. "I learned from oyaji (pop), of course!" 

Taichi, Sora, and Miyako laughed. 

"Have a good time," Sora shouted to the two. "Enjoy the movies." 

"Don't worry about Izumi-senpai, oneesama! I'll find out what's wrong! He should be answering my e-mail sooner or later." 

The girl smiled and walked off with Yamato, trying to get her mind off of her redheaded companion, which wasn't going to be quite easy. After the two were far out of sight, Sora spoke up. 

"You know, I don't blame Mimi-chan for being worried." 

"Neither do I," Taichi agreed. "From what you guys are saying, something is stressing Koushirou out tremendously and since Mimi is hanging around the most with him, it's having a big effect on her." 

"His adoption, I guess," Miyako assumed. 

"Oh yeah, that's right, Sora told me that Koushirou was adopted." 

"Well, he had found out a _lot_ about his biological father, but hardly anything on his mother and for some odd reason, Koushirou-kun refused to go to the _one_ place   
that would probably have a lot of information about her." 

"Where was that?" Taichi asked. 

"Odaiba Elementary," Miyako told him. "Apparently, his mother was a teacher there before she died." 

"Mimi-chan went there yesterday. She must've found something since she is so anxious to find Koushirou-kun." 

"Must be," Miyako agreed. 

"With his weird moods lately, I hope he doesn't do anything rash," Sora said, a bit concerned. 

"What, like suicide?" Taichi asked, surprised at Sora. "I doubt that my buddy would do something like that." 

"I wasn't thinking of anything _that_ extreme!" 

"But _where_ could Izumi-senpai be?" 

"It isn't like him to run off like that." 

"The news about his missing school got around," Taichi said. "It is quite surprising that he is nowhere to be found. Anyway, if he was going to goof off like this, he should've invited me along!" 

"Taichi!" 

"Just kiddin', Sora, but it is a bit of a shock that he didn't show up today." 

"I really wish Koushirou-kun wouldn't do such things." 

"He's worrying everyone!" Taichi said. "The Izumis are probably going frantic, hoping that he comes home, unless they already know where he is. Mrs. Izumi gets frantic whenever the he sneezes," he finished up with a small chuckle. 

"The impression I got from oneesama is that they don't know a thing. She said that she went to the Izumi's this morning and Mr. Izumi just figured that Izumi-senpai left for school earlier than what he would normally." 

"I'm still curious as to why he would run off like that," Sora said. 

"Maybe he needs more information for that project they were working on?" Miyako inquired. 

"Nah, I doubt he would do that either," Taichi said. "Koushirou is the considerate type." 

"Yeah, that's true," Miyako concurred. 

"Not with the way he's been acting lately," Sora pointed out. "It's like his entire mood is changing." 

"I hope he comes back soon to help calm Mimi down," Taichi said. "We had to force her to go to the mall and the movies with Yamato and Mimi _never_ turns down going to the mall." 

"Hey guys, what's up!" the three heard a girl say. 

The three turned to see two girls looking over at them. 

"Chinatsu-san, Chizuru-neechan." 

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Chizuru greeted. "Why are you hanging around here?" 

"No reason, actually," Miyako informed her sister. "We were just talking about some things. What are you two doing here still?" 

"I was just working on some decorations for the Senior Dance tomorrow and was about to go home," Chizuru explained. "I _am_ head of the decorations committee. We were just adding on the finishing touches." 

"Neither Ayame-chan nor Yuko-chan wanted to help, but I was getting everything organized for the Volleyball Club this upcoming school year since I am going to be the captain of it for this school year." 

"Congratulations, Chinatsu!" Taichi said proudly. "I knew you could do it!" 

"Thanks," the girl smiled with a slight blush. "I couldn't have done it without you!" 

"Nah, don't give me any credit," Taichi told her. "You did all of that on your own." 

"I'm not surprised that she became captain," Sora said, giving her a proud smile. "She is always practicing and trying to improve her game." 

"A true, dedicated player and a great asset to the team and this school," Taichi nodded in approval. 

"The coach just informed me of my being coach for the upcoming year. I never would have believed it! She says that I work very hard and that I really deserved it! Oh, and I have some more news! It's for Mimi-chan! Has anyone seen her? I heard she was still hanging around the campus." 

"She just left with Yamato-san," Miyako informed her. 

"Oh yeah, her afternoon date," Chinatsu remembered. "I'm surprised she went, actually, with her being worried about Izumi. She wasn't her usual cheery self at all during lunch." 

"It's strange how Koushirou-kun didn't come to school at all today," Chizuru said. "Maybe he's sick." 

The others shrugged as Chizuru looked around as if she were looking for someone. She then smiled as she saw a car pull up to the curb. 

"Oh, great, he's here!" 

"Who's here?" Miyako asked. 

"My date for tomorrow night," the older girl smiled. 

Miyako stepped up to her older sister and got into her face, throwing out question after question. 

"You finally got a date! Who is it!?! Who is it!?! Why didn't you tell me! Mom and dad approves of your going out with a boy that is old enough to drive!?! You have to be 18 to get your license here!" 

"Calm down, nosy baby sister, 19 isn't _that_ old." The girl then smirked at Miyako. "Besides, you will soon see, that is if you decide to hurry up and come home. He's staying for dinner tonight." 

"I'll be home later." 

"Okay, okay. I'll catch you later then. Sayonara." 

A boy driving an old '98 Toyota Corrola, honked the car's horn. 

"Chizu-san, let's go!" the boy shouted out the car window. 

"Okay, okay! I'm coming, I'm coming…" 

The girl ran off towards the car and got in. 

"Talk to you later, Miyako!" 

With that, the car pulled off with Chizuru in it. 

"He sounds familiar…" Miyako muttered. 

"I guess I can tell you all what the news for Mimi-chan is and maybe you all can pass it on to her. I have so much to do tonight, I don't think I'll have the time to call her or anything just to let her know. The coach really wanted me to inform her of this." 

"What do you want us to tell her?" Taichi asked. 

"Coach Kouchi wants to see Mimi-chan tomorrow before school, she wanted me to tell her that. She has a surprise for her. I am going to be captain for the upcoming year, but Mimi-chan is going to be the co-captain of the Volleyball Club!" 

"Cool!" Miyako exclaimed. 

"Mimi? _Head_ of a sports club?" Taichi asked, having a hard time believing the news Chinatsu had just delivered to them. "I thought I'd _never_ live to see the day where _she_ would become the captain of something other than that girly stuff she likes." 

"I never really saw her as the sports type either, but she really _does_ like Volleyball." 

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Sora-san," Chinatsu agreed. The girl looked down at her watch. "Hey, I have to get going. I'll talk to you all later. If Coach Kouchi decides to call her tonight and she let's you all know, tell Mimi-chan congrats for me. See you all later." 

The three waved Chinatsu off. 

"Wow, that's pretty cool about Mimi-chan becoming co-captain of the Volleyball Club." 

"Yeah, it is," Taichi smiled, still finding the news unbelievable. He then clapped his hands together. "So, what do you all want to do now?" 

"We should probably just go home. It's getting late now anyway." 

"You just want to see who that boy was that picked up your sister," Sora said while giving the younger girl a sly look. 

"I may be nosy, but I'm not _that_ nosy," she said while crossing her arms. The girl then smirked. "Besides, I _do_ have other ways of finding out." 

"Momoe-san?" 

"Bingo!" Miyako smiled while giving the Victory Sign. 

The older girl laughed as she turned to Taichi. 

"Well, Taichi, we should probably head on home." 

"Yeah, I guess so." 

Right before the three could leave, they heard a familiar voice shout out "oniichan"! This, of course, caused Taichi to turn to see who it could be seeing as how he was the only "male" there who could be referred to as "oniichan." 

"O_nii_chan! O_nii_chan!" 

The person was Hikari, Taichi's younger sister. She was riding up towards Odaiba Junior High on her bike, along with Daisuke, Takeru, and the 10-year-old martial artist, Iori, who were also riding their bikes." 

"What are you four doing here?" Taichi asked. 

They all stopped and got off of their bikes. 

"To tell you the news!" Daisuke exclaimed. 

"What news?" Miyako asked. 

"About Koushirou-san!" Iori spoke up. 

"What about him?" Sora asked. 

"He's missing!" Takeru told them. 

Taichi laughed. 

"So you heard he didn't come to school too? News seems to travel around here fast." 

Miyako laughed along with Taichi. 

"I bet if it were Jou, this entire _country_ would get worried," Taichi joked. 

The four younger children didn't crack a smile. Taichi noticed. 

"You are just exaggerating and worrying over nothing," he told them. "Koushirou has been a bit down lately and just took the day off." 

"No, oniichan, it's more serious than that. He is _literally_ missing!" 

"You'd never believe it!" Takeru said. 

"There is a missing person's report out!" Hikari explained. 

"On _Kou_shirou-kun?" Sora asked in disbelief. 

Iori nodded. 

"His parents are commencing a search party to find him," Iori said, obvious worry in his tone. "He has vanished!" 

"_What_!?!" the three asked in unison. 

"It's true!" Daisuke said. "Nobody knows where he is, his parents included, so cops are looking for him all over the city!" 

"It was on the early news! Since you hadn't come home, we figured that you and Yamato-san were still here in school and felt that we should let you know," Hikari explained. 

"The police came to our apartment complex, asking around for him only because they knew he had friends there," Iori added. "They are probably going to search all over Odaiba until they find him." 

"I hope Mimi-chan doesn't hear about this," Sora said, worried as to how Mimi would react to such news. 

"Where is she, anyway?" Hikari asked. 

"With Yamato," Taichi told her. 

"Niisan?" 

"Yep," Miyako nodded. 

"I thought he had a band practice today," Takeru said. 

"He cancelled it to take Mimi-oneesama out." 

"How does he _do_ it!" Takeru muttered to himself jealously. 

"What do we do?" Taichi asked. "I had no idea that his not being in school was going to end up this serious!" 

"Well, I think we should help the Izumis look for Koushirou-san," Iori said quite seriously. "With all of us together, we could all come up with ideas as to where Koushirou-san could be. I really do not feel that he has run away like the police are implying. They think that it is a 'runaway case.'" he informed the older ones of the group. "Why would the Izumis assume that he did anyway," the boy wondered in thought. 

"I agree, I don't think Koushirou-kun has 'run away' either or is even '_missing_' for that matter. He's been going through some things lately and probably wanted to be by himself for a while, but I _still_ feel that we should go out and find him to let him know that his family is worrying about him. If he knew that, then he would probably come straight home. I also feel that Jou-senpai is the _per_fect person to go ask for help from! He could find us some better transportation if it _does_ require us having to search around." 

"Like that Moped of his!" Daisuke yelled excitedly. 

The boy pulled the goggles he normally wore on his head, onto his eyes. 

"Cool!" he said, his imagination starting to go into overdrive, which was a common thing with him. 

Daisuke started act as if he were riding on the Moped and started to make a bunch of motor sounds… 

"Goggleboy coming through! Get out of my way! Move it or lose it, granny!!" 

The boy then started to make horn-like sounds… 

"Beep Beep! Don't make me run you down! I know where you live you little---" 

He then laughed dementedly before finishing his last statement. 

"Who's the king of the road now! Who is your king now!! Hahaha!!! Oh, trying to out run me, eh!! I'll get you Mister!! No one escapes the Speed Demon, Motomiya Daisuke!! Mwahahaha!!!" 

Everyone sweat dropped at Daisuke's behaviour nervously, all thinking different things, mostly of how they thought of Daisuke as "crazy." 

"I pray that he _never_ gets a license or a vehicle to drive in the future," Miyako muttered. 

"One word...Ritalin...he needs it…" Takeru said to himself. 

"I _don't _know him..."Sora muttered to herself, staring out into space. 

"Crazy...he is _crazy_!" Iori said to himself, staring at the boy in disbelief. "The Digital World was saved by _him_?!?" 

"One good _whack_ ought to calm him down," Taichi thought as he bawled up his right fist. 

The boy noticed their looks and his mentor's bawled up fist and calmed down. He cleared his throat nervously and took off the goggles. 

"Um, yes, that would be a good idea," he said, much calmer and less hyper than what he was earlier. 

The group started to head towards Jou's place. Since he was older, he had gotten a place of his own. His parents pay some of the rent, but he paid the majority of it since he had a part time job and walked to school so he wouldn't have to worry about public transportation fees. 

The Moped once belonged to his oldest brother, Shin, but he let Jou have it after he moved out and started going to medical school a few years earlier. Shuu wasn't   
the type to ride, which is why he hadn't bothered giving it to him. Besides, for a graduation present, his parents had gotten Shuu a 2000 Volkswagen Beedle, but   
after he changed his major from Medical to Japanese Folklore and his father "dis_owned_" him pretty much, he had to finish up the payments himself. 

After that, Shuu didn't speak with his father for a while, but the two patched things up once he understood that he had to let his sons choose their own paths and to be successful in whatever they were best in. 

"Let's go find Koushirou-san, guys! Off to senpai's we go!" Daisuke announced. 


	24. Still Missing, Yet Found

Sorry for dragging this on a bit more. I had to do something with Jou. We haven't seen him since part 12 and that was for a brief moment. So, anyway, here is a new part for you. I have finally gotten to the point where I don't care how long this fic gets now. If it ends up lengthy like my Digidream fic, then so be it. 

Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters and/or places associated with the game, show, manga, etc.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 24: Still Missing, Yet Found...

RP: Quite interesting how this fic has gone from Koushirou's search for his biological parents to an _actual_ search for Koushirou. 

Koushirou: (Muttering) I call it unrealistic... 

RP: Pipe down, redhead. I have to do something with you to make this fic more angst, or whatever it is I'm writing. Besides, I wanted to get Jou in here somehow. 

Koushirou: (Sighed) Whatever you say... 

RP: You don't sound all that enthusiastic about how this fic is turning out, Izumi... 

Koushirou: Well, I for one find this entire situation of my "disappearing" impractical! I would _never_ do such a thing and I would never worry my adoptive parents like that! 

RP: I suppose you are right, but your anime self knows of your adoption and you probably _wouldn't_ do such a thing since you accepted the fact that you were adopted, and that no one would think of you as strange because of it. They came clean with you, but in my fic they didn't and they still haven't and you still have your adoption complex and how you feel that you don't belong. You just couldn't take it anymore and decided to, (eerie voice), end it all. 

Koushirou: _What_!! You mean I committed suicide! R_P_-san, what were you thinking! I would never resort to such a thing! No matter _how_ depressed I may become! 

RP: I wouldn't do that to you. I believe in one valuing their life too much to have someone kill him or herself. Anyway, the only characters that I know of that seemed suicidal is Ken, and Juri tried to commit suicide from Tamers, but never mind that since that's pretty much a spoiler to those who _are_ watching the dub of it... 

Koushirou: What about that "end it all" statement? 

RP: What I meant by "end it all," is in the sense of you ending the lies and such, but never mind that. Don't want to spoil it for everyone. 

Koushirou: I have another question... 

RP: Okay, shoot... 

Koushirou: Why is Mimi-san out on a date with Yamato-san? 

RP: Because he asked her to and it's an "outing" not a date... 

Koushirou: But _why_ did you have her accept it? 

RP: I dunno, it just seemed appropriate, I suppose... 

Koushirou: This whole fic is crazy, so unrealistic! (Muttering) Mimi-san going out on a date with Yamato-san...I'm missing...my mother is pregnant... 

RP: Why don't we leave Koushirou to his thoughts while you all read on…   
****   
It didn't take the group long, but they finally made it to Jou's place. They told him what had happened to Koushirou, minus the part about his being missing on the early news and him being a "missing person." 

Jou hadn't heard the news since he had been studying for an upcoming test of his the entire afternoon. He was off from his part-time job at the Grocery Store nearby and was really planning on getting a lot of studying done. Along with him were both Eijiro and Malissa. They were studying along with him since they knew that dragging Jou away from his books wasn't going to work. 

It was Jou's idea for the study group session. Jou, to some, was pretty strange. He finished taking all of his exams, which is common for this time of year for High School students, yet he always wanted to study to further his education. Only those who were quite lazy in school or made bad marks themselves thought this way. Then there are some that just went to school, just to go to school and were pretty average, but still hated the idea of studying all of the time. 

"_Missing_? Koushirou is missing? What are you all talking about?" 

"Just like we said, he's missing!" Daisuke repeated. 

"Is this some kind of a joke to drag me away from my books like you _always_ try to do?," Jou asked, giving Taichi a look. 

"Do we _look_ like we're joking?" Taichi inquired seriously. 

The boy looked over the group and saw that none of them looked as if they were playing or joking around. 

"Wow, you guys _are_ serious!" 

They all explained how there was a missing person's report out on Koushirou and how they were planning on finding him. 

"I personally do not feel that Koushirou-san has run away like the police are assuming," Iori said. "He is just unaware of his not being around causing everyone to worry about him." 

"I've known him for a while; it isn't like him to just run off like that, let _alone_ 'run away,'" Jou said, still trying to make sense of the situation. "I bet he is just out and doesn't want to be bothered. 

"But _some_one should let him know that his parents are worrying over him!" Sora spoke up. 

"I'm sure he'll come home eventually," Jou assured her. "I wouldn't be surprised if he were home already. He probably just got hung up someplace." 

"I hope you're right," Miyako quietly responded. 

"I probably am," Jou said confidently. "Now you all run along so I can finish studying for my practice Biology Examination." 

"You study too much…" Daisuke muttered. 

"If I want to make excellent grades, I must go to seminars and lectures and cram school and take practice exams to help prepare me for college. I can't spend all of my time goofing off and worrying over nothing," Jou told them. "I am sure Koushirou will come home when he feels he is ready. He just wanted some time to himself, probably. I already goofed off yesterday by hanging out with Malissa and Eijiro and few other classmates from my school and a while before that, attending Sora's party and before that, the karaoke bar..." 

"Yeah, something you need to do more often, goof off," a person interrupted, walking up to the group. 

"Eijiro, you know we have to study." 

"A break _wouldn't_ hurt, you know," said the girl who had walked up with Eijiro. "Maybe we _should_ help them look for your friend." 

"Who was he again?" Eijiro asked. 

"The redheaded one I introduced you and Malissa to when we went to the karaoke bar." 

"Oh, the one that was beside that cute girl! Mimi was it?" 

The glasses-wearing boy shook his head at how Eijiro acted when it came to a pretty girl. Age just didn't matter to him, even though the two weren't _that_ far in age. 

"Yes, it was Mimi-kun," Jou sighed. 

"Well then, we _should_ help them and go out and find Mimi! I am sure that she would appreciate my finding her!" 

Everyone sweat dropped from the way Eijiro was acting. 

"We are looking for _Kou_shirou, _not_ Mimi-kun!" 

"Oh yeah, that's right," Eijiro smiled foolishly. 

"Besides, she is out with my brother right now." 

Eijiro looked over at Iori, Hikari, Daisuke, and Takeru and asked, "Who _are_ you guys anyway?" 

"Sorry for being so rude, Eijiro-san, Malissa," Sora apologized. 

The girl started to introduce everyone to Eijiro and Malissa. 

"This is Yagami Hikari. She is the younger sister of Taichi." 

"Hello," Hikari smiled sweetly. 

"The person beside her is Takaishi Takeru and he is the younger brother of Yamato, the singer you met the other night." 

"Hi," Takeru greeted. 

"So you're Ishida's brother, huh," Eijiro noted. 

Takeru nodded. 

"Do you sing too?" 

"Nope, niisan has all of the musical talent, I seem to have all of the sports and athletics talent." 

"Next to him is Hida Iori. He is a good friend of Miyako-chan and lives in the same building as her and Takeru-kun. He also studies Kendo with his grandfather." 

"It is a pleasure meeting you," the boy bowed. 

"And last, but not least, is Motomiya Daisuke. He is a pretty good friend of the Yagami family and is a really good soccer player at Odaiba Elementary." 

"Hey!!" the boy cheered hyperly. 

"He is quite energetic," Malissa smiled. 

"Yep, he sure is," Sora said with a laugh. "He always keeps you on your toes, that's for sure." 

"Nice to meet you all. My name is Tezuka Eijiro and this is our friend, Malissa Smith." 

"Hi everyone," Malissa said to them. 

"Tezuka Eijiro-san?" Iori questioned. 

"Yep, that's my name." 

"Are you related to an aqua-haired girl by the name of Tezuka Eiji who goes to Odaiba Elementary who is about to start grade 5 after our Spring Break?" 

"Yeah, sounds like my younger cousin." 

"So, you are the older cousin that she speaks of. After we ran into Mimi-san yesterday afternoon when she was at our school, she mentioned that she had met a boy with the same family name as hers. After that, Eiji-san spoke very highly of you and how you are a very wise person." 

"The girl is quite sharp. She's always been like a kid sister to me and we get along pretty well." 

"That is what she said as well, she also said---" 

"Okay, enough with the introductions," Miyako interrupted. "Let's go search for Izumi-senpai!" 

"Gomen," the two apologized. 

"I still think you all should just leave him alone," Jou advised. 

"No way!" Miyako retorted. "If he knew how worried his parents were, he would be back by now." 

"Please help us, Jou-san," Iori requested. "We could really use the extra help." 

"Onegai," Hikari pleaded. 

The older boy sighed and gave in. 

"Okay, okay, I'll help you, but I am _not_ leaving and going along with you." 

"Okay, fair enough," Taichi said, respecting his request. 

"First of all, where would Koushirou go?" the older boy asked. 

"That's an easy one!" Daisuke smiled proudly. "His computer!" 

"_Thank_ you Sherlock!" Miyako responded sarcastically. 

"Well, it's true," the goggle boy muttered. 

"If _that_ were the case, he would be at home and we wouldn't be searching for him," Hikari told Daisuke. 

"He could have his laptop with him," Takeru said. 

"Maybe we could try e-mailing him," Iori suggested. 

"I already have, but I guess Izumi-senpai was too busy to e-mail me back." 

"What else does your friend like to do other than surf the net?" Malissa asked. 

Everyone looked over at Miyako. 

"What?" she asked, noticing the stares. "Why are you all looking at me?" 

"Well, you _do_ hang out with him the most compared to everyone else," Daisuke said. 

"And Mimi-chan has a lot lately too, but she isn't here to ask, so…" 

"…what else does Koushirou like to do that you know of?" Taichi finished up. 

"I honestly don't know," the girl shrugged, trying to think of something. "He could like almost anything and I just don't know it." 

"Maybe he went to the library," Jou said. 

"We're looking for Koushirou, not you," Taichi joked. 

"He's got you there, Jou," Eijiro laughed. "If you ever turned up missing, that would be the first place we would start looking!" 

"Well, I don't know where he could be then!" Jou said in slight frustration. "I don't know him as well as you all do. I rarely even see you all anymore." 

"That is true," Sora sighed. 

"I guess coming here was of no help," Miyako muttered, slightly annoyed. 

"We are sorry to have troubled you, Jou-san." 

"That's all right, Iori-kun. I don't mind. At least you all _had_ a logical reason for coming over instead of trying to get me to goof off and ignore my studies." 

Jou got quiet and thought for a moment. He then smiled. 

"You know what, I have a great idea as to what you all could do!" 

Everyone leaned in to hear what the older, wiser boy had to say. 

"Go home and hope everything goes well." 

Everyone of Taichi's group, minus Iori, Sora, Hikari, and Miyako, face-faulted. 

"That's the _best_ advice you can give?!?" Taichi groaned. 

"Yes, go home and study!" the boy told them. 

"But it's the end of the school year!" Daisuke pointed out. "We don't _have_ anything to study! Anyway, we're going to a public school, not a private one." 

"It's never too soon to start getting ready for High School and college entrance exams," the boy said, sounding wiser than what he ever had before. "There are lots of practice exams you can take to help you prepare for the real thing and---" 

"You know, I think we should just get going," Takeru interrupted, not wanting to hear a lecture from Jou on the importance of studying and going to school. 

"Yeah, all of this talk about studying is too much for me," Taichi complained. 

"Well I'm looking into the future and trying to prepare myself for it," Jou said, as serious as can be. "What's wrong with that? I cannot worry about petty little things like Koushirou being missing when it is quite obvious that he just wants to keep to himself for a while. Everyone deserves to have time away from his or her parents and families. That is why I live by myself. I wanted to get away from my father and mother for a while and it will also help get me prepared for when I _am_ fully ready go out and be on my own." 

"Wait a minute, Jou-senpai…are you saying that you think Koushirou-kun has gone out in search of a newer place to live to get away from his friends?" Sora asked. 

"No, I'm just saying that maybe he wanted some time away from his family and friends to work through something. I disagree with his missing school to do it, but that is what I think. Besides, Koushirou seems like the sheltered type to me. He would probably miss his mother _way_ too much if he did that." 

"_Def_initely!" Taichi laughed, recalling all of the times where he had seen Mrs. Izumi baby Koushirou. 

"Then again, he _does_ seem like the independent type," Jou said, thinking to the way Koushirou acted. "I guess, to me, he is a mix of both. Independent, yet not…" 

"Well, if Jou-san feels that it is a good idea not to go out and look for Koushirou-san, then I guess we all should just go home and hope for the best." 

"At least Iori-kun agrees with me," Jou smiled at him. "Just go on home. I'm sure he'll probably be back later on in the evening." 

The others agreed that they all should just dismiss the search for Koushirou just as Jou had suggested. Besides, they had no idea _where_ to start looking for him. 

Miyako still found the entire situation strange and "unkoushi" like. Koushirou just wouldn't run off like that, but, apparently, if no one else was making a big deal over it, why should she?   
****   
Meanwhile… 

"Hey, Mimi, which movie would you like to see?" 

The girl, who was licking on an ice cream cone, thought for a moment and then spoke up. 

"It doesn't matter to me, as long as it isn't a really violent one," she smiled. 

"Sure thing." 

The two were now at the Odaiba Cineplex and were trying to decide on a movie. They had spent the entire afternoon together at the mall, window shopping--even though Yamato wasn't the type to shop period--and had an early dinner, Yamato's treat. The girl was really enjoying her afternoon with the boy and wouldn't have traded it away for anything. 

Yamato's intent was to get Mimi's mind off of a certain redheaded boy and more so on himself. He found it a bit strange that Mimi, lately, had been so concerned about him. Surprisingly, the older, handsome blonde was a bit jealous over the younger, nerdy Koushirou and all of the attention that Mimi had seemed to be giving him lately. Everyone had noticed it, actually, even be_fore_ the two were given that history assignment. 

"Okay, I have the tickets," Yamato informed his friend. "Let's go on in." 

"Alright." 

The two started to head into the movie theatre. Mimi smiled a bit as she felt relieved and stress free. The girl stopped walking abruptly. 

"What's wrong?" 

"Yamato-san…" 

"Yeah?" 

"I want to thank you for doing all of these kind things for me today." 

The boy smiled and laughed nervously. 

"It's no problem, Mimi. I was glad to do it." 

"I'm glad." 

She now had a nervous look on her face. 

"I never knew you were so…interesting." 

"Excuse me?" 

The girl laughed nervously as she fiddled with her purse strap with her free hand without the ice cream cone due to her anxiety. She had no idea why, though. 

"No wait, that's not what I meant," she said, trying to rethink what she wanted to say. "I mean…well, I don't know what I mean. I'm just glad that you are one of my good friends and I am even _more_ glad that you invited me as your partner to the Senior Dance tomorrow night." 

"I'm glad that I did too," the boy smiled at her. 

Mimi gave him a smile back. She wasn't lying or anything and meant what she said. 

"Your ice cream is melting..." 

"Oh no!" 

The girl opened up her purse with one hand and took out a kleenex to clean up the ice cream that was melting. She was close to finished with it anyway so she gulped down the last part of the cone and continued to clean herself up. 

"Ick, all of this ice cream is too sticky to clean with just a kleenex. I'll be right back. I need clean this up." 

She walked towards the lady's restroom to clean up the ice cream. When she was done, she walked back out where Yamato greeted her. 

"All done?" he asked. 

"Yep," she nodded. 

The two were about to start towards the theatre room, when they saw a couple of policemen walking around, questioning people. Most of the people they saw the police questioning were young people about their age. 

"I wonder what's going on…" 

"Who knows," his tan-haired companion shrugged. 

One of the policemen that were questioning everyone walked up to the two. 

"Hello there, children," the man greeted. 

"Hello, officer," the two greeted back politely. 

"We were wondering if you were students of Odaiba Junior High. You look about the right age and if I'm not mistaken, that's OJH's, school uniform…right?" 

The two nodded nervously. A cop had never approached them before, not in this fashion anyway. It was like they were looking for them specifically, the two felt. 

"Hey, I found some OJH students," the policeman shouted to his partner. 

"Good," he called back to him while walking over. "That's great!" 

"Excuse me, but what is going on?" Yamato asked. "We have a movie to catch…" 

"Sorry, excuse our rudeness, but we are going to all of the teen hangouts or places where children your age would hang out," the first policeman who had first approached the two, informed them. "We are looking for a child that goes to your school." 

"I am Officer Noboru and this is my partner, Officer Mitsuo. We are only looking around for OJH students now, though. We will widen and broaden our search later if it is necessary." 

"Oh-kay," Yamato said slowly, wondering why the policemen were so concerned with them and OJH students in general. 

Mimi held her stomach a bit in nervousness. She had the gut feeling that these police officials were going to say something that she wouldn't want to hear, but she still remained optimistic, hopeful, and enthusiastic 

"Who is the person you are look for, sir?" she asked. 

"Some eighth grade boy," Officer Mitsuo told them. "Maybe you know him. What was his name again?" 

"It was a common name," Officer Noboru said, trying to recall the person's name. "Oh yeah, Izumi Koushirou was his name." 

"Koushirou!" both Yamato and Mimi said in surprise. 

"Good, you two _do_ know him," Officer Mitsuo smiled. 

"What's wrong with him!?" Mimi asked in alarm. "What has happened to him!?" 

"Settle down young lady," Officer Mitsuo said, trying to calm Mimi some. "We just have reason to believe that he has run away and we are asking fellow his classmates where he could have gone." 

"Do you know where this Izumi Koushirou could be?" Officer Noboru asked. 

"You mean he hasn't gone home yet?" Yamato asked in surprise. 

The two officers shook their heads. 

"He didn't come to school today either," Yamato told them. 

"I bet this is nothing but a runaway or either he just wanted to play hooky," Officer Mitsuo complained. "His folks called the station when the school called _them_ and said he hadn't gone to school." 

"No, Koushirou-kun wouldn't do that!" Mimi said, defending her friend. "He isn't like that!" 

"Then _you_ tell us where he is so we can all go home!" 

The girl frowned and stared down at the ground. 

"I don't know," she said quietly to Officer Mitsuo, unable to answer his question. 

"Since he hasn't been gone for over 24 hours, I bet he was just playing hooky with some friends of his and just lost track of the time," Officer Noboru assumed. 

"That's what I think has happened to him," his partner agreed, "but we were put on this case to look for the boy, so let us continue our search for him." 

"I hope that boy comes back soon," Noboru grumbled. "This was supposed to be my day off…" 

"You know the department only accepted this case and is sending everyone out because of who he is..." 

"Definitely," Noboru agreed, "because any other time, the department would have followed the correct procedures if it was any other person." 

The two cops left Yamato and Mimi to continue doing their jobs, even though they felt that it was a waste of their time. 

Yamato was wondering what Officer Mitsuo meant with the statement he had made about why everyone was looking for Koushirou in the first place. He was wondering what made Koushirou so special that everyone would go out and look for him. 

He was pretty curious about that, but before he could think any more of it, he noticed the look on Mimi's face and how she was getting into her "worried" manner. He wasn't sure if he wanted to continue with the movie or not, or if Mimi even felt up to it. He didn't want to seem selfish, but at the same time, he was annoyed with her always worrying about Koushirou. He _really_ felt that she worried about and over him too much. 

"She worries way too much over Koushirou," the boy muttered to himself. "Either she knows something about him that we all don't, or either she likes him more than what she is letting on." 

"Yamato-san," Mimi started slowly, "I am sorry, but I have to go!" 

"But what about the movie?" 

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to look for Koushirou!" 

"But nobody knows where he is…" 

"That doesn't matter! Something is wrong with him! I just know that something is! He's been very moody and depressed lately. I hate not hanging around him when he is in that state since I don't know what he is capable of. Seems that Miyako-chan, Taichi-san, or I can get him out of it and actually get him to crack a smile." 

"Don't you think you are worrying a bit _too_ much over him? You should really calm yourself down over it. Who knows, maybe the others have found him or know where he is." 

"I sure hope you are right, but I still feel that I should talk with him." 

The girl started to walk off, until she felt that she was stopped. 

"Mimi, wait," Yamato said while holding her arm. "Don't go." 

"But Koushirou---" 

"You should at _least_ call one of the others to see if they know where he is or if they have found him before you run off to who knows where," he interrupted. 

The girl looked up at the boy and nodded. 

"You're right," she agreed. "I shouldn't jump to conclusions." 

She took out her cell phone and decided to give Miyako a call. She figured that Miyako would know of the whereabouts of their friend. 

"Hello?" 

"Miyako-chan!" 

"Mimi-oneesama, what's up!" The girl then asked craftily, "How was your afternoon outing with Yamato-san?" 

"Never mind that for right now," the girl said, wanting to get right down to business. "I was wondering if you all found Koushirou yet." 

"Nope, we haven't," Miyako said, wishing she had better news to deliver. "We haven't heard much of anything yet." 

"A couple of policemen just talked with Yamato-san and me, wondering if we knew of his 'where-a-bouts.' There's a missing person's report out on him!" 

"We were hoping you wouldn't find out about that…" the younger girl muttered. 

"What?" 

"I mean, we were hoping to find him before the cops did." She then laughed nervously. "It's like we are talking about a criminal here." 

"Well, if you all haven't found him, then I plan to!" 

"But oneesama…" 

"My mind is made up! I am not returning home until Koushirou's search is over!" 

The glasses wearing girl could only shrug. She knew how Mimi was, quite like herself. When Mimi gets her mind set to do something, she does it! 

"Well then, my hopes are with you," she smiled. "I couldn't leave right now if I wanted to to go along with you." 

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine," Mimi assured her. 

"Wish I could come along anyway. My mom won't let me go back out since I came home later than I was supposed to. I almost missed dinner since we visited Jou-senpai." 

The girl then smiled to herself. 

"At least it wasn't a total waste. I _did_ get home in time to see my sister's mystery date!" she thought. 

"You went to see Jou-senpai?" 

"We were hoping that he could help us, but he said not to worry and to go home and study. All he _does_ is study!" 

"That's Jou-senpai for you," Mimi laughed. 

"Well, good luck on finding him and threaten him _real_ good for me for making me and everyone else worry. He worried people that don't even know him all that well." 

"I surely will!" the girl said with determination. 

Mimi hanged up the phone while Yamato just stood around patiently, waiting for her to finish. 

"He hasn't been found," Mimi informed Yamato while putting her phone back into her purse. 

"Oh," was all Yamato could say. 

"I'm going to go look for him." 

Yamato crossed his arms, somewhat frustrated over the entire ordeal and how Mimi was still acting overly-concerned about him. He was somewhat worried too, but not enough to go out looking for him. 

"Maybe he doesn't _want_ to be found." 

"What do you mean," Mimi asked curiously. 

"Exactly what I said. Maybe he just doesn't want to be found," he repeated. "Remember when Sora vanished on us after we all got separated after Taichi and MetalGreymon got taken back to our world after the defeat of Etemon? I pretty much said the same thing and it was true." 

"But this is different. He is worrying his _parents_ now! That's not like him!" Mimi told him, her knowing better than anyone how her short, redheaded friend would normally act. "Sora-san running off seemed pretty normal for a person like her. She hates to burden anyone with her problems, but Koushirou is different. He would just keep things to himself, not run away. If he wanted to get his mind off of something that is bothering him, he would just bury himself into his computer. I really want to find him, I'm sorry that it ruined our movie, but I feel that I must go. He is my friend, a very close friend." 

Yamato stood there, not knowing what to say to all Mimi had just said. He was about to speak, but she didn't give him the chance since she continued on. 

"Sure we may not have the same things in common, like I would rather play Volleyball, totally surprising, or shop at the mall for my fun, while he would want to sit around and crack some computer code or surf the net, but we can _still_ talk with one another." The girl bawled her fist up and spoke in a determined manner. "I have to go find him and I'm not going to return until I do!" 

The girl turned and started to walk off, which was quite surprising since after her encounter Sunday, she hated to go anyplace by herself. As she was walking off, she realized that she wasn't alone. She saw a tall blonde right by her side. 

"I can't let you run off alone now, can I?" he smiled. 

"Yamato-san…" 

"It doesn't matter that we can't see the movie together. Let's go find our friend." 

The girl eyes welled up with tears and she hugged Yamato tightly. 

"Arigatou, Yamato-san!" 

The boy hugged her back in surprise. 

"What for?" he asked. 

"For understanding how important Koushirou's friendship means to me..." 

"You're welcome." 

The girl let go of Yamato and wiped her tears away. 

"Well, let's get going." 

"But where do you think he could be?" 

The girl shrugged and started to think for a moment; thinking back to conversations that the two of them could have had that could clue her in as to where the young boy could have gone. It took her a while, but she finally figured it out. She then gave Yamato the victory sign and shouted, "Bingo!" 

"What, what!" Yamato asked, startled from Mimi's sudden outburst and Miyako mimic. 

"I think I know where he is!!" the girl said in excitement! "Mimi _baka_! Why didn't I think of this earlier! I'm surprised _Miyako_-chan didn't think of this! He _has_ to be there! He always talks about it! One of his favorite things to do when we have school vacations! I have no idea where he could have spent the entire day, but since night is approaching he _has_ to be there!" 

"Where? Where has he gone?" 

"Yamato-san, we have to get going!" 

"But---" 

"Let's go, we have to go catch a bus to the outskirts of town!" 

The girl grabbed Yamato's arm and started to pull him along, whom of which could barely keep up with the determined young girl. 

"Go _where_!?! The outskirts of _town_! Your folks wouldn't allow you to go there this late in the evening!!" 

Yamato noticed that she was pretty much ignoring him as she dragged him along. 

"_Mi_mi!" 

"I'm coming, Koushirou! Just don't leave until I get there!" the girl said to herself, intent on finding her computer-oriented buddy… 


	25. The End of Koushirou's Search!

::Smirks:: I _love_ being evil! ::Laughs:: You all are still wondering where Koushirou went. Mwahahaha!! :-p Well, you shall soon see for this part. I would have mentioned it in the last part, but I needed some information first. Mainly on the ep, "Togemon in Toyland." I owe a thanks to those at Megchan's who helped me with that info. 

I would also like to thank you all for the reviews so far. I do plan on responding to most of those reviews pretty soon, like at the end of this fic. ^_^ This story is also starting to wind down. I sense an ending soon. All we have left is the dance, and Mrs. Izumi having Koushirou's new brother or sister and this fic is done and then I can go back to the sequel of this. 

Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters and/or places associated with the game, manga, show, etc.*   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 25: The End of Koushirou's Search!

"Hai, obachan, I am still out with Yamato-san and I may be a little late," Mimi told her aunt on her cell phone. "I promise to hurry home as soon as I can...yes ma'am...okay, g'bye." 

Mimi hanged up her cell phone and put it away. 

"Now everything is all ready to go," she said with a smile. 

Yamato, who was still unsure of what was going through his younger friend's mind, spoke up. 

"_Mi_mi, _where_ are we going!?!" 

"To find Koushirou of course! I know where he is," she told Yamato, quite sure of herself. "He just has to be there! He just _has_ to be!" the girl thought, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake and that her hunch was right. 

The two were waiting around at the bus stop near the movie theatre awaiting the bus that would take them to nearly out of town. 

"Mimi, will you _please_ calm down and tell me where we are going!" 

"I already told you, to find Koushirou!" 

Yamato sighed to himself and tried his best to calm himself down. He was starting to grow _slightly_ annoyed with Mimi's constant "To find Koushirou," comment. 

"But why do we have to go to the outskirts of town just to do it? The only thing I can think of that's there is the beach and I _know_ Koushirou wouldn't be at the beach." 

"Because that's where he probably is, silly," the girl smiled playfully. 

"If you say so, but I still don't understand why we have to go so far away to look for him in a place where he would more than likely _not_ be." 

The bus finally showed up and Mimi and Yamato hopped on, Mimi being more determined than ever to find her redheaded friend…   
****   
Miyako had _finally_ gotten an e-mail back from Koushirou. He had pretty much said that he was glad that they could still be friends, but he didn't mention much about where he could have been. He just responded to everything Miyako mentioned in the e-mail, including the incident in the computer lab that morning...   
~*~*~*~   
Miyako-kun, 

I am glad that you are not mad at me for my rudeness. I am truly sorry about that. I also noticed that you sent me another e-mail as well. 

Yes, it is true. I did not attend school today. I had a few things to do today. When I return, I do not know, but do not worry about me or where I am. I will return sooner or later. I just had to work some things out that neither you nor Mimi-san could help me with. 

By the way, where _is_ Mimi-san? I will try to get in touch with her later, but do you know where she could be as of the moment? 

::lol@handcuffed man:: 

Yes, it probably _was_ a sight, seeing a person handcuffed to a computer lab chair. I'm sure our Principal didn't find the incident amusing at all. I have no idea who the culprit was who could have handcuffed him to the chair. I am sure who ever did it is long gone by now, _especially_ if the man who was handcuffed says he doesn't remember the person's name or their identity like you have stated... 

~Koushirou~   
~*~*~*~   
"So, Jou-senpai was right," Miyako thought as she read through Koushirou's e-mail. "He just wanted to be by himself." 

The girl responded to the e-mail and explained how he should have let someone know what his plans for the day were, how he shouldn't have ran off, and also about Mimi's "_date_" with Yamato. She made sure not to mention that Mimi was looking for him currently, fearing that he may run off from where ever he was hiding out. 

She immediately got a reply and started to read it…   
~*~*~*~   
Miyako-kun, 

If I had told you or anybody else, you all would have probably tried to stop me from leaving for the day. I really needed this time to myself. Please, do not worry about me. I will return home soon. I have finally made my decision. 

Mimi-san is out with Yamato-san? I thought their "date" wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow for the dance! That is quite odd if you ask me! 

~Koushirou~   
~*~*~*~   
"His decision?" Miyako asked. "What decision is that? I wonder what he is talking about…" 

The girl shrugged and put her D-Terminal down and decided to stop e-mailing Koushirou. He obviously wasn't going to let her in on why he had disappeared for the day. She then changed her mind and e-mailed him back....   
~*~*~*~   
Izumi-senpai, 

Yes, oneesama is spending the en_tire_ evening with Yamato-san. They were going out to dinner _and_ a movie! And yes, it _is_ a _date_! Isn't that romantic of him! He asked her out this morning when she got to school. ^_^ 

Anyway, what was the decision that you had to make? 

~Miyako~   
~*~*~*~   
She awaited her e-mail and got one back. She checked it quickly.   
~*~*~*~   
Miyako-kun, 

What is so romantic about an _outing_ between friends? I am surprised that she is spending the evening with Yamato-san of all people. He has never given her attention like this before! Why start now? I figured that he would have had some kind of a band practice, like he always does. Besides, he should already have a female companion since every girl in the city of Odaiba would love to hang out with him and furthermore---   
~*~*~*~   
Miyako continued to read the e-mail as Koushirou rambled on and on.   
~*~*~*~   
I am sorry for rambling on. I must get going. It's almost time for me to leave. 

I will see you later. 

~Koushirou~   
~*~*~*~   
The girl closed up her D-Terminal and frowned. He had managed to do it yet _again_--make her envious of Mimi. He rambled on so much about his obvious dislike for Mimi's spending the evening with Yamato that she had grown annoyed. 

She just didn't get Koushirou. First he acts like he has no outside interests, then he acts like a jealous boyfriend whenever it came to guys hanging around with Mimi, but never like this. 

She got up and went to her room, slamming it shut behind her in frustration, anger, and annoyance. She then plopped herself down on her bed, taking out her diary so that she could record the events of another day which involved Koushirou annoying her with the way he seemed to glorify Mimi and ignore her, totally dismissing the fact that Koushirou hadn't answered her second question _or_ that he was planning on leaving wherever it was he was e-mailing her from...   
****   
Round about the time Miyako got that last e-mail from Koushirou... 

"Wake up, Mimi," Yamato said while shaking the girl awake. 

"Huh?" Mimi yawned while stretching. 

The girl had fallen asleep during the semi-long bus ride. She sat up and saw that Yamato was right. They were clear across town and very far away from home. 

"Good, we're here!" she smiled happily. 

During the bus ride, when Mimi had fallen asleep, Yamato had spent the majority of his time staring at her, trying to figure her out and why he had such an attraction towards her. "What was so special about Koushirou that made her so concerned for him?" was what he kept asking himself during the entire ride. 

The two hopped off of the bus. 

"It's about 8:20 now, the last bust to leave here, leaves here at exactly 8:45," Yamato said while reading the bus schedule he had picked up before getting on the bus back in Odaiba. 

"I'm _positive_ that he is," she said assuringly and confidently. "Now come on, let's go." 

"Go _where_?" the boy asked, still slightly annoyed over their situation. "There is nothing here but beach!" 

"Up there," she pointed. 

The boy looked up to where Mimi had pointed. He saw a very big hill, and on this hilltop was a very large building that overlooked the beach. 

"What _is_ that place?" 

"The Odaiba Research Observatory Lab." 

"And you think Koushirou is here because..." 

"Because I do!" 

"You wouldn't mind adding more on to that, would you?" 

The girl gave the boy a smile and started to explain why she thought Koushirou was there. 

"Certainly, I don't mind explaining more," Mimi nodded. "*Koushirou likes to study star charts and constellations. For his school vacations, he tells me that he has always liked going to the Odaiba Observatory since they have better computer equipment and look at the constellations and map out start charts much better--ex_treme_ly better--than what his two computers can do. 

"I don't understand all of that technical stuff too much, but that's what he likes. The reason it's so secluded and private is so that the researchers here won't have to worry about being disturbed or bothered in any way. They still have visitors and tourists that come here, Koushirou being one of probably many." 

She pointed towardst he top of the building 

"That's where their super powerful telescope comes out," she explained. "Maybe Koushirou wants a comet named after him or something," she smiled, thinking of how cute the idea was. 

"Let's hurry and find him so we can catch the bus back to town! We just spent almost 5 minutes discussing just now." 

"Right, let's go!" 

The two ran up the path, which lead up to the big isolated building. 

"What makes you think that he would be here now?" Yamaot asked while running up the path. 

"The best time _to_ come is at night when all of the stars are out and are a bit easier to see when not using the telescope and the computers and just observing by eye, I guess. He has told me that he likes to come here during the summer nights since he is off then. He is pretty good friends with the research guys that work here. According to him, he has been coming to this place ever since he was very young." 

The two made it to the big door of the observatory. Mimi knocked, the sound of the knock echoing all throughout the big, empty building. There seemed to be no one around to answer, but she decided to knock again. 

"I hope _some_body hurries up and answers," Yamato grumbled, growing a _tad_ bit impatient. He then looked at his watch. "We don't have much time left." 

The girl got a worried look. She really hoped that she was right about Koushirou's being there. She would hate it if she were wrong and wasted her and Yamato's time. 

The two were about to give up, until they heard the big creaky door being opened. A tall man who looked to be in his mid 40s answered it. 

"The Observatory tours are now over, children, sorry," the man said as if it were routined. 

"No, wait!" Mimi called before the man could close the door. "We don't want a tour, Mr. um…um…" 

*"Nagare..." 

"Professor Nagare, we are looking for someone, a friend of ours," Mimi explained to him. 

"Sure, who are you looking for?" the professor asked. "If you are looking for my fellow researchers, they have all left for the day. I'm the only one still here, but I plan on leaving in a bit." 

"Have you seen an Izumi Koushirou by chance?" 

"As a matter of fact, I have. He spent the entire day here. That's a first for him for this time of the year. He said he was exempt from going to school today since he had passed all of his exams with high marks or something like that." He gave both Mimi and Yamato a questioning look. "Who are you and what do you want with him?" 

"We are classmates of his," Yamato started, glancing over at Mimi. "We had a feeling that he would be here." 

"Well, he left a very good while ago," the man told them. "A short while before you two got here, actually." 

"_Damnit_, we _missed_ him!" Yamato cursed. "All of that trouble and we end up missing him!" 

"I offered to drive him back home to the city, but he said not to bother but I know him better than that," the man smiled. "I always end up taking him back home or either to my place. He is pretty good friends with my two Pocket Monster loving daughters, *Sutaa and *Mi. They don't go to school in Odaiba. We live in another district, but if you guys didn't see him, then he must have taken the last bus out." 

"But the last bus doesn't leave until 8:45," Mimi said. 

"Then he must still be around here someplace, just as I predicted. I doubt he ran all the way to Odaiba. I bet he wants to ride back with me." 

"But where else could he be?" Yamato asked. 

"He's on at the beach, probably. He hangs out down there a lot too whenever he visits here and helps us out with all of our research with the research he does back at home on his own." 

The two were surprised to hear that Koushirou was probably down on the beach but decided to give it a shot anyway. The two ran down to the beach and surprisingly, saw a young redheaded boy sitting there, staring up at the sky, taking in the nice, gentle breeze from the dark ocean waters. 

"Koushirou!" 

"I can't believe it! He is _actually_ here on the beach!" Yamato whispered in amazement. He then turned to Mimi, feeling a bit silly. "I'm sorry I was starting to doubt your knowing where Koushirou was." 

"That's okay," Mimi smiled. She then laughed shortly, "I was starting to doubt myself too." 

"Well, let's go get him!" 

Yamato was about to run over to Koushirou to get him to hurry up and come along with them, but Mimi stopped him. 

"We've found him, now let's get him home!" Yamato anxiously told Mimi. "Why are you keeping me from going to get him?" 

"Because something is wrong." 

"I don't mean to sound selfish or anything, but I don't want to miss our only ride back home. We are running out of time!" 

"Wait, let me talk with him first and then we'll leave." 

"Yeah, whether Koushirou wants to or not!" 

"No, if he chooses not to come along, then we should respect that and let him stay. It's his choice." 

"_What_!?!" the boy asked in disbelief. "That doesn't make much sense!" 

The girl gave him a look. 

"Okay, that _does_ sound like something I would say, but I don't think that should apply to this situation…" 

"Never mind that, just stay right here." 

The young girl walked farther down the beach to meet up with Koushirou. Yamato stayed behind and just watched her. He wasn't sure what to think of Mimi's unusual fondness of Koushirou. 

Koushirou didn't notice that someone was walking up behind him nor did he sense it. He just sighed, remaining in deep thought. 

"It sure is nice out tonight, isn't it?" a voice giggled. 

The boy, startled by the voice, turned around to see... 

"_Mimi_-san?!?" 

The girl smiled and sat down beside him. 

"I just _love_ going to the beach," the girl said while inhaling the salty sea air. "It's the best place to go for a vacation and to get away from everyone too. You can run away from your problems instead of facing them that way." 

"I---" 

"Don't you think?" she interrupted. 

"Why are you here?" he asked, turning his head away from her. "I told Miyako-kun not to worry about me or to bother looking for me." 

"Well, that is her, this is I. Do you _know_ how worried you have _made_ everyone today!?!" 

The boy shook his head. 

"A lot…" 

"I didn't realize that my not being around would cause such a tumult…" 

"Tumult?" 

"Commotion." 

"Well, yes, you _have_ caused quite a 'tumult.' Everyone was worried about you today; even those in our school that aren't in our class and year. Koushirou, what is wrong? If something is bothering you, you should find someone to talk to, not keep it to yourself and run away. All of O_dai_ba is looking for you!" 

"I just had to think about some things." He then sighed and quietly said, "I'm not sure I even _want_ to go home after the way I acted towards my parents." 

"What happened?" 

He lowered his head. 

"Nothing that concerns you, but lately I _have_ been having my fair share of problems with them, arguments and disagreements. I'm just not used of it. I said some things I didn't really mean and I now know that they hate me and would probably want to disown me. I have brought shame unto the Izumi family name and I don't deserve to be an Izumi, it's just official now." 

"That's not true," Mimi said while shaking her head. "We all have arguments with our parents and end up saying things we don't necessarily mean. You think you're the only one who doesn't have problems with your parents? It's normal, _very_ normal in fact." 

The boy sat there and didn't say anything. 

"What exactly was your argument about?" 

"Nothing much, really. I broke curfew and snuck out of the house the other night to look for something." 

"What were you looking for?" 

"I misplaced my article on my biological parents," he frowned, staring down at the sand on the beach. 

"Oh, that reminds me," the girl started while taking something from out of her purse, "I meant to give you this today when you came to school, but you never showed up." 

Koushirou took the piece of paper and inspected it. 

"My article!" he exclaimed, recognizing the item. He then looked over at her. "How did you get it!" 

Before Mimi answered him, she moved the hair from her face since the winds were kind of high for that particular night. 

"After I stormed out on you yesterday, I came back, but you weren't there. I found this on the floor and picked it up. I would have given this back to you sooner, but I had a little research to do and kept the article." 

The boy lowered his head again and stared at the article. 

"You went to Odaiba Elementary…didn't you?" he asked quietly, his eyes still fixed on the news article. 

The girl nodded and continued. 

"Just because you were too stubborn to go, didn't mean that I was! I want a good grade on this and you deserve to know more about your mother." 

Koushirou didn't know what to say. 

"Oh, I have something else for you too..." 

The girl took out a couple of small sheets of paper and handed them to Koushirou. 

"This is my father with a woman and a baby!" he said, looking over the photo. "Is this...no, it couldn't be...could it _really_ be..." 

The girl nodded and smiled. 

"I found someone that was a close friend of your biological mother." 

"This is my...my mother?" Koushirou asked, still shocked at what he was seeing. "And the person she is holding is...is me?" 

"Yeah, that's your mother holding a baby you," she smiled. "It is your family portrait." 

The boy studied the photo and did something he hadn't in a good while...smile. This was the first time he had ever seen his biological mother and he was extremely happy about it. He even felt like crying a little, but he didn't, of course, mainly because it wasn't his nature to. 

"_Wow_, my mother," he chuckled a bit in disbelief to keep himself from crying. "I can't believe it! My _mother_! You got this from a person who _knew_ my real mother?!?" He stared down at the photo again, nearly speechless and shook his head. "Wow!" 

He then looked at the other photo. It was a photo of Ms. Hanada and Miki. They looked as if they were in their early 20s. Mimi noticed Koushirou looking at that particular photo and spoke up. 

"That's her friend," she explained. "They were the best of friends and I also found out a lot of other things, but it's getting late. Yamato-san is waiting for us." 

The boy jerked his head up at the mentioning of Yamato's name. He remembered what Miyako had told him about Mimi being out with Yamato on a "date" and his wondering why she would spend the evening with him. 

"Yamato-san is here?" 

The girl smiled and pointed behind her. Koushirou looked back to see Yamato standing where Mimi had left him with his arms crossed. 

"He didn't want me to go looking for you all by myself." 

"That was very nice of him." 

"Won't you come home with us to stop everyone from worrying so much? If you won't come back home for me or the rest of your friends won't you _please_ come home for your parents at least, for your mother's sake?" 

The boy sat there. He was always planning on coming home, just not right away like he had told Miyako in the e-mail he had sent her. 

"I suppose I _should_ be leaving how. Nagare-hakase has probably already left too just like Boshi-hakase and if I miss the bus, then I would be stuck here." 

"Oh great," the girl smiled gratefully. "I'm so glad you decided to come back on your own." 

The boy smiled a bit, still staring at the two photos. 

"I can't believe she did this for me, I never would have imagined it," Koushirou thought, grateful for having a friend like Mimi. "I guess she's more serious than I thought when it came to this project." 

Yamato waved to Mimi, who was pretty much urging them to hurry up. Mimi got the hint and stood up, brushing the sand from off of her skirt. She then looked down at Koushirou and smiled. 

"Well, let's get going." 

He nodded as Yamato ran down to the two, extending his hand out to Koushirou to help him up. 

"Glad to see you're okay, pal," Yamato greeted. 

"A-ri-ga-to, Ya-ma-to-san," Koushirou responded slowly, accepting his offer to help him up. 

The older boy smiled at Koushirou. 

"Sure, no problem. That's what friends are for." 

The boy looked down at his watch and then over at Mimi and Koushirou. 

"C'mon you two, we have to get going! The bus is about to leave." 

The two nodded and started to run back towards where the bus stop was. Mimi was the fastest of the three since she played Volleyball. She was glad that she got her exercise and had fun at the same time while playing a sport she actually enjoyed. 

For the upcoming school year, Mimi was planning on joining the Swim Club. She always enjoyed swimming. The girl was now thinking ahead since she wanted to have a good transcript for when she entered High School and being in clubs always looked good on transcripts going into High School; especially cultural type clubs, like Chorus, which she excelled in. 

The three finally made it to the stop. Yamato looked at his watch. It read, 8:43. 

"Wow, we made it!" Yamato said while trying to catch his breath. 

"Yeah, I would hate to miss the only bus back to town." 

Koushirou was quiet as he looked at the photos Mimi had given him, still in deep thought. He still couldn't believe what had happened and what Mimi had done for him. 

"Does she care about my well being _that_ much?" 

Before he could answer himself, the bus showed up, 8:45 on the dot, and the three teens boarded...   
****   
Back at the Izumi home, only much later than when Koushirou, Yamato, and Mimi left the Odaiba Observatory... 

"I'm sorry, sir, ma'am, but we haven't found your son," the policeman told the two parents. 

This wasn't the news Mrs. Izumi wanted to hear and she made sure to get that point across. 

"You _have_ to find him! He has _never_ been gone away from home this long except for school excursion trips!" 

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Izumi, but we have searched all over Odaiba at every teen hangout possible. There's no place left here in this entire city!" 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, sir. We have tried everywhere. We are planning on ceasing our search and commencing it by morning if he doesn't come back by tonight on his own." 

"I can't sleep knowing that my son is out there by himself!" Mrs. Izumi sobbed. 

"Please, we will do everything possible to get your son back." The policeman then smiled proudly. "He _is_ a great asset to our city, you know! A _grand_ hero!" 

The two gave the policeman a look, wondering what he was talking about. 

"Our son, a hero?" Mr. Izumi asked in bewilderment. 

The policeman laughed a bit, thinking the two were joking. 

"Of _course_ your son, Izumi Koushirou! Thanks to his quick thinking on Sunday, he helped to protect a young girl from being sexually assaulted _and_ killed! A pretty good friend of his. I can't think of her name right off..." 

"Sunday?" Mr. Izumi asked himself. 

Mr. Izumi looked over at his wife and figured that she was thinking the same thing he was. The two were starting to put two and two together. The policeman noticed the looks that the Izumis had on their faces; looks of confusion. 

"You two act as if you didn't know." 

"Oh, of course, of course," Mr. Izumi said nervously. "We were just thinking of how tragic the situation could've become if it weren't for our son helping out." 

Mrs. Izumi nodded in agreement. 

"Well, I have to get going. If you need anything else, just give us a call. You know the number. An officer will be by tomorrow morning to check up on you all as well." The man then tipped his hat to them. "G'night." 

The officer left the Izumi home to get back to the station to perform his next assigned task. 

"Masami, did you _hear_ that?" the woman asked, still crying a bit. "He said _Sun_day!" 

The man sat down on the couch and ran his hand through his short hair. 

"Mimi...he _was_ covering for her..." the man realized. 

The woman sat down right next to him and sighed. 

"I read about some assault in the paper and heard about it on the news." 

"So did I," Mr. Izumi said, still surprised at what had actually happened that past Sunday. 

"It makes sense. Koushirou didn't go to the Yagami's to study because he was with Mimi." 

"But that assault occurred over near Odaiba University...why would he be there?" 

The woman shook her head. Right now, she was still worried about Koushirou, but was more curious as to what he had been doing these past few days. 

"Maybe there is a connection to his breaking into his Junior High School and Odaiba University." 

"We ran him off with our questions," Mrs. Izumi said, lowering her head, shedding tears. 

"No, don't say that." 

"He hates us now!" 

"That's not true." 

"You heard him! We are liars to him and we have been lying to him for his entire life! What else could he mean by that! He didn't sound as if he were happy with us at the time!" 

"I am still wondering what he meant by that," the man responded calmly. "If we do not get any answers from out of him, I feel we deserve knowing what it is exactly that we are lying to him about. I want to get this all out and on the table and then maybe we can start off as a family again." 

"I hope so," the woman said, wiping her tears away with a tissue. 

Right at that moment, a certain red head was waiting on the outside of the apartment door. He was still hesitant on whether or not to enter the home that he felt he had broken or not. Mimi insisted that Koushirou go straight home. He offered to walk her home, but Yamato said that he would get her home. Mimi agreed to it, of course. She felt that the more time Koushirou had with his parents to work things out, the better. 

"It's now or never! I have to go in and I have to apologize," he told himself. "I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to _really_ disown me after this," he muttered under his breath. 

The boy took in a deep breath and stuck the key into the door's lock. After the lock clicked, the boy slowly turned the knob, still hesitant on entering. He then decided to accept whatever his fate was going to be. He just hoped that it would be a fast, painless death. 

Mrs. Izumi heard the lock click on the front door and jerked her head up. 

"What is it?" Mr. Izumi asked, noticing the alert look on his wife's face. 

"I heard something..." 

The woman stood up and went to where she heard the sound. 

"Oh please be him! _Please_ be him!" 

She went all the way to the front door of the apartment to greet... 

"_Kou_shirou!!!" 

The woman ran up to the boy and hugged him tightly and smothered him in kisses. 

"Oh my god! You are back! Thank _god_ you are back!" The woman hugged him a bit tighter. "I was so afraid I would never see you again!!" 

Mr. Izumi heard the commotion and walked up to the door. 

"Please, don't run off again Koushirou!" Mrs. Izumi told him, still holding on to him tightly. 

"We were so worried about you!" Mr. Izumi added, glad to see his only son had returned. 

The boy, who was currently lacking air from the tight hug, couldn't say anything _to_ respond. He was actually a bit surprised that they were happy to see him. He figured that they would have been ready to kill him for what he had done. Well, not literally, but he _was_ expecting some yelling from them. 

"I think he knows that you are glad to see him," Mr. Izumi said while pulling his wife away. "He is starting to turn blue." 

"Gomen," the woman apologized with a sweat drop. 

"That's okay," Koushirou quietly responded while trying to catch his breath. 

"Did you have anything to eat today? I can cook you something right quick! If you want I could---" 

"Calm down, Yoshie." 

"I'm sorry, I was just so worried about him." 

"Son, will you please sit down for a moment," the man asked, a serious tone in his voice. 

The boy nodded, but first took off his jacket and hanged it up. When he did this, his article and two photos fell out, but Koushirou didn't notice. He sat down with his father while Mrs. Izumi left to get Koushirou a snack. She couldn't help it, he was her baby and to her, still was. 

"I'm not hungry, mom." 

"Well, you should at _least_ have yourself a drink," she called from the kitchen. "I'll be back in a moment." 

The boy didn't disobey and said, "okay." Mr. Izumi just sat there waiting for his wife to return, which didn't take her too long. She brought Koushirou a glass of her famous lemonade, which the boy accepted gratefully. After he finished drinking it, Mr. Izumi spoke up. 

"So, do you have anything that you want to tell us, son?" 

Koushirou lowered his head. He knew that he shouldn't lie to them anymore, even if they _were_ keeping secrets from him. Two wrongs don't make a right. 

"Well, son?" 

The boy was about to speak until he saw his mother get up and go by the front door. She saw the papers on the floor and she was clean, tidy type and could always spot such things. He ignored his mother's usual cleaning habits and put his attention back on his father. 

"Well...you see...Mimi-san and myself, well, we---" 

"Were in search of someone," a quiet voice interrupted. 

Koushirou and Mr. Izumi looked towards the woman who was staring down at the news article. 

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Izumi asked. 

The woman handed her husband the articles of paper she had found on the floor--the photos and the article. She took a seat on the other side of Koushirou. He could tell that she had been crying. He hated to make his mother cry in any way and that made him feel even worse. 

"Is that what you accused us of lying to you about?" Mrs. Izumi asked, still speaking quietly. "Your adoption?" 

The boy nodded slowly. 

"How long have you known?" she asked. 

The boy kept his head lowered and spoke up, just as quiet as she was. 

"Since I was about seven or eight..." 

"_That_ long?" Mr. Izumi asked in surprise. "You have known about our not being your real parents for the past eight years or so? Why didn't you come to us?" 

The boy couldn't believe the question that was just asked of him. He was surprised that they, themselves, hadn't already figured it out. 

"Why didn't _you_ ever come to _me_ with this information!" Koushirou asked, speaking up. "It is your job to let me know these things, not mine! It made me feel as if you were embarassed of such a thing!" 

"You are right," Mrs. Izumi said, trying to calm Koushirou down a bit. "We _should_ have been more honest about your origin and past, but that still does not explain why you would want to keep such a secret from us. If we would have known that you had known, we would have explained more about it. The reason we never told you of your being adopted was because we felt that it wasn't the right time to tell you, not because we were embarassed over such a situation." 

"No, Yoshie, don't take up for me." The man turned his attention away from his wife and back to Koushirou. "It was my idea to keep this away from you, but like she said, it wasn't because we felt you were an embarassment to us. Your mother wanted to tell you about your adoption a long time ago, but I told her that the time wasn't right and she stood by me and my decision. I felt that if we told you of your adoption that we would lose you and I don't want to lose another one. You were a blessing to us and it was meant to be, our adopting you!" 

"_Lose_ me?" 

The man nodded. 

"We were afraid that you would end up doing what you have been doing for the past few days now," he explained. "We were afraid that you just _may_ find someone and...leave us." 

"We were just being selfish. We didn't mean to, we just didn't want you to leave us." 

"When were you planning on telling me?" 

"When you became an adult where we wouldn't have any say in what you do in reference to your being adopted," the woman told him, wiping away another one of her tears with her tissue. 

"Don't cry, mom!" the boy said apologetically. 

The woman apologized. 

"No, don't apologize." 

He stood up and sighed and stared out of the window. 

"I am the one who should be apologizing to you. I should have figured that you kept that secret for a reason and I shouldn't have made such a big deal over my being adopted. I felt that I didn't belong since I'm not a real Izumi, which has been bothering me for years, but I shouldn't hold that against you for not telling me about my adoption. You felt that it was best that I didn't know, but at least I know that you _were_ planning on telling me." 

He turned back to them. 

"I said some things the other night that I didn't mean and I would like to apologize for that." 

The two smiled at Koushirou as he continued. 

"I wasn't thinking straight and I was just overwhelmed and a bit upset that you mentioned Sunday." 

Mrs. Izumi stood up and walked up beside her now slightly taller son. 

"Don't say any thing else about Sunday if you do not want to." 

"It's okay?" 

"We already know what happened," Mr. Izumi told him. 

"You do?" 

"We know that you were trying to keep the identity of Mimi a secret," Mrs. Izumi told him. "We know of her assault and how you helped her." 

"I'm sorry about that. I lied about where I was supposed to go and---" 

"Stop apologizing!" Mrs. Izumi interrupted. "We forgive you, partially, for what you have been doing." 

"But why were you at Odaiba University?" 

"My biological father was an instructor there. I was trying to obtain information about him." 

"You mean, you spent all of Sunday at Odaiba University with Mimi?" 

The boy shook his head at his father and decided that it was time to tell them everything, which he did. 

"Hikarigaoka! You went _way_ out there!" 

The boy nodded to his mother and continued his story about how he had met Ms. Mitsuishi, how he went to Tokyo U, met a student named Keisuke, the way Anje had treated him and Mimi, and how Mimi had found him and persuaded him to actually come home, and how he had gotten the photos. 

"So you now know that we are family, but only through marriage," Mr. Izumi stated. 

"That's okay. I still see you and mom as my mother and father, even if you aren't by blood. You are all I know and over the years, you have taken care of me as if I were your very own." 

His mom started to cry. Those were the best words she had _ever_ heard from Koushirou. She, of course, strangled the boy with a big hug. 

After the hug, Koushirou and his adoptive parents talked for the majority of the night, getting everything that they had been keeping secret from one another, out in the open. This included _why_ the Izumis fostered so many children before adopting him. He was surprised to hear that this mom had had another child before him, but then understood why she made such a big deal over her pregnancy. 

This was making the boy feel much better and he had Mimi to thank for it. Before they left him, Mimi pretty much threatened him, but in an "I'm your friend and I care about you" way. She said that he should tell his parents about everything he had been doing for the past few days. He thought about it a lot and did. That was a good thing, actually. Now that he had done just that, he had a new and better perspective of the Izumis...   
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Comments

Note 1: This is the info I was looking up pretty much. Remember in the beginning of Togemon in Toyland, each kid was talking about what they enjoyed doing most back home? 

Taichi: Relaxing after a game.   
Sora: Singing while doing chores.   
Yamato: Grilling steaks.   
Takeru: Playing video games.   
Mimi: Vacationing.   
Jou: Doing homework and studying. 

Koushirou's was the only one I couldn't remember. Koushirou's was looking at Sattelite pics of stars on his computer. I'm just adding more to it. ^^   
***   
Note 2: "Nagare" is a bad pun everyone. The word, "nagare" means, "shooting star." Nagareboshi is another way of saying it and at first, I was going to have him introduce himself as "Nagare Boshi," splitting the word up. 

My mind was a blank on names and I wanted something "star" related for his name. My other choice was Kenkyuuinno Hoshi. Kenkyuuin means researcher and "hoshi" is another way of saying star. Now, I just changed it to kenkyuuinno to make it possesive. The Hiragana character "no" makes words possesive and plural like the 's and s does for words in English. I was trying to say "Researcher of Stars," but who knows if I actually did that right, which is why I didn't bother using it. Oh, and I also decided_ not_ to use it because I'm already planning on using the name "Hoshi" for the sequel to this fic. Hope you all decide to read it.   
***   
Note 3: Okay, you guys try to figure out the pun for that one. It's a Pokemon one. Sound it out guys. Sutaa + Mi. I'll help you out a bit with the pronunciation. The 'i' in "Mi" has a long 'e' sound. I'll let you know if you guys guess it right later, like in the next part. :-p 


	26. The Presentation & Introduction!

Hey everyone. Surprising where Koushirou was, right? I knew using a computer lab would be _way_ too obvious so I decided to use the Star thing. I find it rather interesting actually, his being interested in stars and stuff. 

Oh and as for the "Sutaa" and "Mi" thing. Together, it says, "Sutaami." That's the Japanese spelling for the Pokemon, "Starmie." The 'aa' sound makes sort of an 'ar' sound. I forgot to mention that in the last part when hinting so if you didn't get it, no big deal. ^_^ 

I am glad that you all are still reading this and I am also glad that I haven't bored you all yet and I also would like to thank Shikou for the typo I made. ^^ The parts are getting written and put up a bit faster because I am still on my Spring Vacation. Too bad that will all be over later on this week. -_- 

Anyway, as always, I do not own anything dealing with Digimon in general...   
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Part 26: The Presentation & Introduction! "Boku wa Izumi Koushirou desu!"

It was now Friday, March 20, 2004, the day of Mr. Ishidzuka's last period history class presentation. Mimi was a bit nervous, which was a first for her. Normally, being in front of people didn't bother her too much and she was pretty much a natural when it came to giving presentations in front of her peers. She was hoping that she and Koushirou had enough information about Mr. Fukami and Ms. Misayoshi to get a good grade. 

The girl was also nervous because Koushirou had asked her before class to give the actual presentation by himself and how he had made his "final decision." 

Mimi sat and awaited the start of his presentation, not really understanding what her friend meant entirely. She noticed that Koushirou didn't have his laptop with him; instead, he just had a few sheets of paper. 

"Okay, Mr. Izumi," Mr. Ishidzuka said, holding a pen and a writing pad. "We are all ready for your presentation." 

The boy nodded and started to give his presentation. The entire presentation was good overall, but one main thing Koushirou did surprised Mimi tremendously. He gave her recognition, of course, but instead of mentioning how successful Hiroaki was or how great a teacher Miki was, he spoke of Masami and Yoshie Izumi. He spoke of their histories, like the schools they attended, their majors, how they met etc. Not _once_ did he mention his biological parents. 

After his simple, to the point presentation, Mr. Ishidzuka told Koushirou that he had done a very good job on it and that pairing him up with Mimi was a good choice. Mimi got her extra credit and Koushirou got a 95% for the assignment since he was pretty thorough with his information, but he didn't bore anyone or drag it on too long. 

"Great job Izumi," the man complimented. "I'm proud of you! You finally did a family based project that was worthy of an A." 

"Thank you, Ishidzuka-sensei," he said quietly. 

The man smiled. 

"Well, class is over everyone! I must say that I am very glad and pleased with your work on these assignments and I _must_ say that Ueda and Tomokazu's assignment was one of the most creative I have ever seen in all my years of teaching." 

Both Seki and Yuuji stood up and bowed. 

"Arigatou, Ishidzuka-sensei!" the two said. 

"But you _do_ know that this entire thing was my idea so I should get more credit or nearly _all_ of it anyway..." 

"You _would_ say something like that," Seki muttered, rolling his eyes in annoyance at his cousin. 

"Of _course_! It's true because I _do_ deserve most of the credit!" 

"Ueda-kun, you both get the same amount of credit," the man said while massaging his temples from the headache he was starting to get from Yuuji's silliness. "I don't know _what_ made you think that you would get more." 

"Aww man!" 

Both Yuuji and Seki partnered up for the assignment. Yuuji figured that since they were both from the same family anyway, why bother doing two separate projects. Seki agreed and both put together a slide show for their presentation. Seki did the narration while Yuuji did the slide show. 

"Okay, class dismissed everyone!" Mr. Ishidzuka annoucned. "I hope to see you all in April after your early Spring Break as rising seniors!" 

Everyone gave the teacher a look who laughed. 

"I'm just kdding. I hope to see you all as seniors after Spring Break! Enjoy your extra time off! You guys are lucky that Spring Break is starting early this year." 

The bell rang and the entire class cheered and rushed out of the room happily. Their long awaited vacation had finally arrived. The now empty classroom, since their teacher had left, just had Koushirou in it now, who was still getting his books together. 

The boy was glad that he had gotten the presentation out of the way and that the entire nerve-racking ordeal was over. 

"At least it's over," he sighed out in relief. 

The boy was about to leave the classroom, until he was greeted by a familiar music-loving girl. He could tell that she was about to question him about the presentation he had given. 

"You don't have to say a thing," Koushirou said before she could speak up. "I already have an idea as to what you are going to say." 

"Oh, so you do," the girl said, crossing her arms. 

"It's probably about my presentation, correct?" 

She nodded. 

"What about all of that research we went through to find all of that information about your biological parents! We got a lot of stuff! _Especially_ on Misayoshi-san! How could you _not_ use it!" 

"Well, this assignment was for us to talk about our true families and thinking about it now, my adoptive parents _are_ my true family. That was the decision I had made, to talk about the Izumis instead of my biological parents. The decision I mentioned to Miyako-kun was whether or not I should tell the Izumis about what I had been doing for the past few days in hopes of getting everything back to normal and I had made my decision _not_ to, but you talked some sense into me. 

"The Izumis have taken care of me for years like I _was_ there own. We may not be related entirely by blood, my mother especially, but they're the only family I have ever had and they are the only family I have ever known...and I love them as if they were my real parents and I know that my mother doesn't want to disown me just because of her being pregnant or ignore me or think that her soon to be child will be more important to her than I..." 

"I guess," the girl said slowly, taking in all Koushirou had said, "but what about all of the stuff about your _real_ parents that you found?" 

"Is it wrong to keep that for my _own_ personal knowledge?" 

"I guess not," she muttered. "But that was a lot of work we went through..." 

"I really appreciate what you did for me, Mimi-san. I don't know many people who would put up with me the way that you did." 

Mimi didn't know _how_ to react. She wasn't mad at him and she wasn't annoyed with him. She was just surprised at herself for not being neither mad _nor_ annoyed with him. A few years ago, she probably would have complained about doing all of the work for nothing, but Mimi realized that the time that the two spent together wasn't a total waste. 

Their friendship improved tremendously because of their traveling and hanging out together. The two were _definitely_ a lot closer, and Mimi always felt that friendship was very important and finding new ways to improve your friendship was even better. 

Another thing that made Mimi glad of was due to Koushirou's views and how they had changed. He was all for Mrs. Izumi's pregnacny and he stopped acting spoiled over it. She was also glad that Koushirou finally realized that even though he may be adopted, that there was nothing wrong with it as long as those raising him loved him very much. 

"I am sorry for wasting your time," Koushirou apologized, noticing the distant look on her face. He figured that Mimi was so angry with him, that she couldn't even speak. 

The boy turned and started to walk off. 

"No, Koushirou, wait," Mimi called, breaking away from her thoughts. 

He stopped and turned to face her. 

"What is it?" 

"You didn't waste my time," the girl smiled at him. "I _chose_ to help you, remember? I could have turned down the offer to help, but I didn't and helped anyway. I didn't mind helping out. I _am_ a bit surprised that you didn't use any of the information we found, but I _am_ glad that you are happy even more. I am also glad that because of this project, we are better friends." 

"Better friends?" 

She nodded. 

"That's enough for me. I love making new friends..." 

"But I'm an old one..." 

"...or getting closer to an old one." 

The boy smiled nervously. He was glad that he had grown closer to Mimi too, but deep down, he wished that they could be a bit closer. Maybe something _beyond_ friendship. He would never admit it to Mimi nor himself, though. 

Mimi looked down at her wrist watch and realized that time was slipping away. 

"I have to to get going. I have to get ready for the Senior Dance," she told him. 

The girl then got a starry-eyed look as she thought of how exciting it was going to be. 

"This is going to be _so_ exciting!" she exclaimed. "At least if I go this year, I'll know what to expect when I go next year." She gave Koushirou a gentle smile. "I would be honored for you to be my partner for _our_ Senior Dance, but first, let's go to our upcoming one for the new school year. The one that is always held towards the end of the Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) around the end of April. You should go to the Cherry Blossom Festival when it comes around. The bloom is going to be really nice this year. You can join me if you want. We can make a group thing of it. A Chosen Children get together." 

"You would actually _want_ to go with somebody like me to a _dance_!?!" Koushirou asked, shocked that Mimi would want to go with him of all people to a social event. 

"Sure, why not," she smiled. 

The girl gave Koushirou a quick kiss on the cheek and a playful giggle, which left the boy red. She then took off to get herself ready for her big evening. 

A _lot_ of students saw Mimi give Koushirou _this_ kiss. Everyone started murmuring to themselves about it and the word was getting around the school. Of _course_, the more and more the rumor spread, the more and more exaggerated it became. 

After Koushirou got over the shock that this had been the most kisses he had ever gotten from a person of the opposite gender, he started to head home. He noticed that a lot of students looked at him and then started to talk amongst themselves as he would pass them. The boy had an idea as to what was going on, but dismissed the thought since he had more important things to worry about. 

His walk didn't last too long since he was stopped by a jealous, lovesick fanboy. 

"Ueda-san," Koushirou said, recognizing the person who had stopped him. 

"Izumi, _what_ is your secret?" Yuuji asked. 

"My secret?" 

"_What_ is it about you that Mimi-chan likes so much!?!" 

"Nani?" 

"I want to know so she can like me too!" Yuuji whined, streaked tears streaming down his face. 

"I don't know what you are talking about." 

"We _all_ know that she kissed you!" 

The redheaded boy got a somewhat cocky attitude and smirk after Yuuji mentioned that. He was actually _enjoying_ the jealousy that Yuuji was showing this particular time, although he wished that it was Misao there instead of Yuuji since he personally found Misao more annoying when it came to his attempts. 

"So?" Koushirou responded cooly. 

"_So_!?! She has kissed you! Do you know how many boys would _love_ to get a kiss from Mimi-chan!!" 

"I'm sure there are quite a few boys who would love Mimi to use her 'kiss attack' on them, but we are only friends, Ueda-san." 

The boy hurried himself along to get away from Yuuji and other students of their school. During his walk, he saw Miyako who was just a few paces ahead of him. 

"Miyako-kun!" he called to her. 

The girl turned around to see Koushirou running towards her. She forced a smile on her face when he caught up with her. She heard about what had happened, but from what she was told, it was an all out romantic kiss shared between the both of them, not a simple friendship kiss from Mimi to him. 

She, as well as many others, knew that something like a kiss is meaningful and normally only used in the romantic sense, which is why everyone was so suspicious over the two and why Miyako thought the way that she did. She then thought about how Mimi _did_ spend a good amount of time in America, and also heard how kisses were common there and shared between friends. She hoped that that was the deal. 

"Izumi-senpai, hi. How are you?" 

"Fine," he stated plainly. "It sure is a nice day today, isn't it?" 

"Yeah, it sure is," she said quietly. 

"Want me to walk you home or something?" he asked. "It's on my way since I am planning on dropping by Odaiba Elementary before going home." 

"Sure, I guess so," she replied nonchalantly. 

The two started to walk. Koushirou noticed that Miyako was pretty quiet, which was pretty much a first for her. 

"Is something wrong?" 

"No, not really," she said as she held her books up to her chest as she walked. She then sighed. "Just wondering about something..." 

"What about?" 

"Mimi-oneesama...." 

"Mimi-san?" Koushirou asked in surprise. "No, I can't _handle_ something like that! She _couldn't_ be romantically interested...could she?" Koushirou thought, feeling a bit worried. 

"Yeah, I _really_ envy her." 

"Oh...I thought she was going to say something else," the boy thought, feeling foolish for what he was thinking. 

The boy was surprise to hear that Miyako was envious of Mimi and didn't know exactly what to say to such a response. 

"Um, is that a good thing or a bad thing?" 

The boy got a somewhat annoyed look from the younger girl after he said that. 

"I guess not," he muttered. "What is there for you to be envious about?" 

"I guess," she started, staring up at the sky as she walked, "I wish I could _be_ her. Every boy likes her, _no_ boy likes me." She then chuckled lightly, feeling a bit embarassed. "I don't know _why_ I told you that." 

He didn't know why either, but he tried his best to cheer her up and give her _some_ kind of words of encouragement. 

"That's alright, I am sure lots of boys like you. You are a very nice girl and so is Mimi-san." He then smiled nervously. "Maybe they are just shy." 

"They sure aren't '_shy_' when it comes to oneesama!" she retorted. "Even Ya_ma_to-san has a thing for her! I know that Sora-san, Chizuru-neechan, and me were other choices for him to ask out, but he asked Mimi-oneesama first _any_way!" 

"Maybe it's not like that. Maybe he only asked her along because he has known her longer and Taichi-san asked Sora-san according to what you have told me. Mimi-san probably wouldn't have gone at all, you know, unless she was asked, which she was. If not Yamato-san, I'm sure that someone would have asked her eventually," he quieted down a bit, "like maybe me, perhaps," he then added on quickly, "or any of her other friends." 

The girl looked over at Koushirou in surprise. She then started to ask a question. 

"Well...Izumi-senpai," the girl started slowly and nervously, "do you think that, well, you could like, um..." 

"Do you think I could like what?" 

The girl shook her head and sighed out. 

"You know what, just forget about it!" she said, exasperated over the entire situation. 

With that, the girl ran off, surprised that she was going to ask him if he could ever like a girl like herself. Koushirou could only shrug at Miyako's sudden urge to run off. 

"What does Izumi-senpai _really_ think of her? Could he see me the way he sees her?" she thought as she ran away. "I have this strange feeling that he likes her from what oneesama has said about him. He has been going out of his way just to be nice to her..." 

After Miyako ran off, Koushirou continued the walk by himself to Odaiba Elementary. He was planning on giving Ms. Hanada a visit. Mimi told him a lot about her, including the stuff about her wanting to take him in after his parents had died and also why his mother didn't have many photos of herself; she hated taking them. He found it so strange, in an ironic way, how he was so close to a person who could have saved him a lot of travel time, yet so far away. 

It didn't take him long, but he finally reached the Elementary school he had graduated from just a couple of years earlier. He entered the school and went straight to the library, hoping to find Ms. Hanada there. He too recognized the name, but didn't know her by face. He could only go by the photo he had of her with his biological mother. He really wanted to meet this woman. 

When he got to the library, he looked around to surprisingly find Ken in the school's library. He was playing chess with a woman who resembled the woman in the photo that he had. 

He could tell that the game was close to finished. Both Ken and the woman were down to their Rooks and the woman still had two of her power pieces left included with that. Ken only had one included, his Queen. As they played, Ken had ended up capturing both of the woman's Rooks. 

"Hmm, I don't have much of a choice of moves, you know, Hanada-sama." 

"My old friend Miki-chan would figure out how to get out of the mess that you are in, Ichijouji-kun. I am sure that you can figure out how to get me into Checkmate using your two Rooks and your Queen against my two Bishops. You have a _big _advantage over me." 

Ever since the stuff dealing with Ken's Dark Seed, he wasn't as "spectacular" as all had thought of him to be. Since it no longer served any purpose, the Dark Seed's powers no longer worked. Ken was just as average as any other person when it came to school, sports, and anything else. He was the way he was _before_ he was infected with it...average. One of the things he enjoyed playing when he was younger was Chess. His older deceased, brother, Ichijouji Osamu, had taught him how to play and he was an okay player, but Osamu was tons better. 

Every other day after school, recently, Ken would come to Odaiba Elementary to get tutored in the game by Ms. Hanada. Ever since the Dark Spore incident and its powers being deactivated pretty much, Ken had lost his power to concentrate on stuff in general and Chess was one of them because of how it reminded him of his brother so much. He just recently got back into the came of Chess when he played against Miyako in a game and lost. 

Even though it had been a couple of years since they encountered the stuff dealing with the Dark Seeds and Spores, Ken still hadn't fully recovered emotionally from the trauma he had gone through. 

The only thing that was still the same without the Dark Spore's power, was his still being a girl magnet. Just like with Yamato and Takeru, all of the girls loved him. 

"Come on, Ichijouji-kun, I know you can get this," the woman said with encouragement. "I only have two Bishops left here and _no_ Pawns that can actually help aid me any. What could you do to get me into Check and then into Checkmate." 

The boy thought for a moment and started to see what the woman meant. 

"Okay, I'll move my Rook...here," he said, picking up the rook. "B5 to B2." 

The boy moved his Rook to the row in front of where Hanada's King sat. The woman smiled. She then moved one of her Pawns up, but they didn't aid to her any. 

"Okay, now I'll move my Queen...here...A5 to F5." 

The boy moved his Queen to the column beside the King so that way, Ms. Hanada wouldn't be able to move her King there _if_ he got her into Check. She nodded in approval and moved her Pawn up another space. The younger boy smiled at Ms. Hanada and moved his second Rook onto the actual row that her King sat. 

"H8 to H1" he said, moving the piece. He then got a Kaizer-like smirk and said, "Checkmate!" 

"Good job, Ichijouji-kun," the woman congratulated him. "See, with the first Rook you moved, you made it so that I couldn't move my King onto the second row. With your Queen, you blocked me from going over to column f, and with your second Rook, you made it so that I couldn't run or get my King to safety." 

"Thank you." 

"Although, you _could_ have done that with just one of your Rooks and the Queen, or just the two Rooks, but never mind that. It was still a pretty good move." She then gave him a smile. "See, you are _not_ too dumb to play Chess. You just have to learn to concentrate. Considering your past, I can understand why you have so much distraction and why you have a difficult time concentrating sometimes. You still have your brother's death on your mind, I'm sure." 

The boy frowned as he stared down at the chess board. 

"Yeah, ever since he died, I never wanted to play the game again because it depressed me, but ever since I played a friend of mine, I realized how bad off a player I had become and felt that I should get tutoring so that I can get good again. He wouldn't want me to mope around and stop playing the one game I always enjoyed most with him, other than blowing bubbles..." 

"You should always do something to remember your family and friends by if something happens to them." 

The woman smiled a bit. 

"The Lord knows that I always have. I always try my best to never forget my friend who died years ago. I loved her a lot. She was like a sister to me and my playing and teaching Chess is my way of remembering her." 

"Wow, I guess you and I have something in common, Hanada-sama." 

"It seems so. We both lost a person close to us that enjoyed a good game of Chess." 

The boy stood up and shook hands with Ms. Hanada. 

"Thank you very much, Hanada-sama. I really appreciate your reteaching me the basics of Chess." 

"No problem. It's nice to see a young person interested in such a strategic game." 

He nodded but didn't leave quite yet. Koushirou still stood at the library's doors, a bit too nervous to enter and speak to the two. He then shook off that nervous feeling he had just like he did before he gave his presentation. 

"---and that was the year the big Chess Tournament was won by my friend!" Ms. Hanada finished up. "I ended up in the semi finals, but I wasn't good enough to even get a chance _to_ play her." 

"Wow, she _was_ a great player!" 

The two continued to converse until they heard the sound of someone clearing his throat. 

"Hello there young man, how may we help you?" 

The woman didn't pay attention to Koushirou at first since she was putting up the Chess equipment. 

"Hey, what are _you_ doing here?" Ken asked. 

"I could ask the same of you, Ichijouji-kun. You are so far away from home _and_ your school." 

"Hanada-sama is reteaching me the game of Chess. She sets up different scenarios and I have to find a way to get her into Checkmate. Today, she used a simple and basic procedure, mainly because it is one of the easiest." 

The woman looked up to get a better look at the boy that was talking with her pupil. She then looked at the boy's face and the red hair. She stood up immediately as she stared at him. 

"Oh my god!" the woman said, excitement in her voice. "It's you, isn't it?" 

Ken was a bit confused as to why Ms. Hanada was acting so strangely just because of Koushirou's being there. Koushirou, on the other hand, decided to make sure he had the right person. 

"Hanada Sui-san?" 

The woman nodded, incredibly speechless. Koushirou smiled a bit and introduced himself. 

"Boku wa Izumi Koushirou desu, Hanada-san." 

The woman looked as if she were about to cry. 

"Hanada-sama, Hanada-sama," Ken called, growing a bit worried. He then looked over at Koushirou and asked, "What's wrong? What is going on?" 

"I can't believe it!" the woman exclaimed, hugging Koushirou tightly. "It's Chibi Koushi! After all of these years, worrying about you, wondering if you found a good home, I finally get to see you again!" She let go of Koushirou, wiping away some newly formed tears. "It's been almost 15 _years_ since I have seen you last!" 

The woman wiped away some more tears of joy. 

"I am sorry, Chibi Koushi," the woman apologized. "I am just _so_ glad to see you!" 

"You know him, ma'am?" 

The woman nodded as she went for a kleenex. 

"His mother and me were the best of friends as children." 

"Izumi-san?" he asked. 

"No, Miki-chan," she corrected him. "My old Chess playing friend." 

"Misayoshi-san?" Ken asked in confusion. "Did Izumi-san change her given name as well as her family name when marrying?" 

The redheaded boy, who had been quiet during this reunion, spoke up and answered Ken's question. As of right now, he didn't care _who_ knew of his adoption and realized that informing people wouldn't be an embarassment to the Izumi name. His adoptive parents had accepted him, so he should as well and not care what everyone thought of it. 

"No, she didn't change her given name when married," Koushirou explained. "You see, Ichijouji-kun, Misayoshi Miki is my real mother. She died when I was still that of an infant, she and my real father. The Izumis adopted me shortly after their deaths." 

The boy was surprised to hear such news. Here he was, mourning over his brother because of something as trivial as a board game, while Koushirou had lost his actual parents and a very young age, meaning he never had the honor of knowing them. 

"Wow, you are so _big_ now!" the woman said, looking at how tall Koushirou was. She then laughed a bit. "I can't call you Chibi Koushi anymore." 

"No, I don't mind. Call me whatever you are accustomed to." 

The woman then started to cry again. 

"If I would have been able to, I would have taken you in!" the woman said, feeling guilty. "Please, don't feel as if anyone abandoned you after your mother and father's deaths." 

"No, I'm not upset with you or anything. I just wanted to meet you. Mimi-san told me everything that you told her. It is my responsibility to come meet someone who is as close to real family as I can get. According to Mimi-san, she said that my biological mother was like a sister to you." 

The woman nodded and told the story of how she and Miki were great friends and why she had become a teacher. Ken hanged around too. This was all pretty interesting to him. 

After the long, tearful reunion between Koushirou and Ms. Hanada--Ms. Hanada doing all of the crying--Koushirou invited her over to his place for dinner. 

"Hanada-san, would you mind coming over to my home for dinner? My adoptive parents would love to get to know you. You are technically family to me since you know so much about my real mother and father. I am really glad that Mimi-san didn't stop searching and came here and discovered you." 

"I just wish I would have known about your being here earlier. No one ever let me know of your where-a-bouts or anything like that after you were adopted. I was really concerned about your well being and wanted to take you in myself, but we all know what happened to that." 

"Well, will you except my invitation, Hanada-san?" 

"You know, since we _are_ 'family,' stop calling 'Ms. Hanada,' okay," the woman requested. 

"I am sorry," he apologized. "It is a habit to refer to adults in such a manner." 

"That's okay," she said, understanding. "Why not call me your Aunt Sui?" 

"Hai, Sui-obasan," he nodded. 

The woman got teary eyed again. 

"The Izumis did a wonderful job with you," she complimented. "You are so polite and well mannered. And yes, I would _love_ to visit you and your family." 

The boy smiled. 

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Hanada-san...I mean Sui-obasan..." 

The woman smiled at Koushirou and smothered him in a big hug again. 

"I am just _so_ glad that you have been living a nice, healthy life." 

Koushirou smiled nervously, and said, "So am I." 

"Well, it's getting late around here and I should let you two go." 

The woman was still very happy to see Koushirou and he could tell. 

"I promise to visit you, Hana---I mean, Sui-obasan and dinner is tomorrow at my place." 

The woman nodded. He got his address from Ms. Hanada and gave his to her, but he told her that he would come and fetch her. After the exchanges, he left the school along with Ken who had tons of questions for him. 

"Wow, Izumi! I had no idea that you were adopted!" 

"Don't sweat it, Ichijouji-kun," Koushirou said. "I never really mentioned it before since I never really had a reason to." 

"Oh, but it's still surprising. I never really knew much about you. You never talk about yourself much. Every time I am around you, you are always theorizing or something like that." 

"I guess I never felt that I had much to say about myself." 

"So smart, yet you are so mysterious." 

"Miyako-kun has told me that," Koushirou laughed shortly. 

"Well, it's true," Ken said, agreeing with the description. "It's kind of weird meeting someone else that knows what it's like to lose a family member." 

"I never thought about it that way before," he trailed off. 

The younger boy noticed that Koushirou didn't seem to be in the "talking" mood so he decided to leave him alone. To him, it seemed that talking about his adoption and his real parents still bothered him a bit--probably because of their dying--or either talking with those younger than himself in general bugged him, unless that person was Miyako. 

*He had never seen Koushirou associate with those younger than himself voluntarily, except for Miyako, and be able to hold a steady, normal everyday conversation with them--not the types that involves him giving off one of his many theories. 

"Well, I better get going. I have to go meet up with Motomiya, Hikari-san, and Takaishi. Talk to you later, Izumi." 

The boy ran off as Koushirou waved to him and to continue home. He had quite a bit on his mind now, Ms. Hanada. He couldn't wait to tell his folks the good news and how she could come over. It was his mother's idea to invite her. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He just wanted to meet her. 

His interpretation of Ms. Hanada was the same one that Mimi had of her, loneliness. He sensed it as well. She wasn't married, he found out, and she didn't have children of her own. 

Koushirou had _finally_ made it back home. Him and his parents may have made up, but he was still grounded for the next week for breaking curfew and being brought home by the cops. He was forgiven for everything else and all of his "secrets" since he had a reason and his parents were just as guilty since they were keeping a big secret away from him as well. 

"Hi there Koushirou dear!" 

"Hi, mom." 

"You seem to be in a cheery mood." 

"Of course! It is the last day of school! Time to relax the old brain until April." 

"That's nice. You kids had a hectic week with all of those exams going on. Only High School students get exams at this time of the year." 

The boy nodded. 

"I really shouldn't be so friendly with you since you _are_ grounded, but I just can't help it." 

The woman smiled and hugged Koushirou. 

"I'm just glad to have you back! I don't _ever_ want you to do what you did again! If something is _ever_ bothering you, come to us. Masami was wrong for keeping your adoption a secret from you. I wanted to tell you, but he didn't and I was silly enough to listen to him." 

"I'm really sorry mom!" Koushirou apologized, hugging his mother back. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble and I didn't mean _any_ of what I said Wednesday." 

"I know," she smiled. "I didn't mean what I said either. I was just frustrated, sad, angered, embarassed, and upset all at the same time and I guess I just...exploded." 

"I'm glad that you do still accept me as your son, even if I'm not a true Izumi." 

"Even though you may not be mine by blood, I will always love you as if you were my very own and as if I had carried you for 9 months and had you myself," Mrs. Izumi wanted to make clear to her son. "That's how important you are to me, Koushirou. I don't _ever_ want you to feel or think otherwise! It doesn't matter to me whether you are my son by blood or not, I will still love you just the same." 

The boy nodded. 

"Arigatou...okaasan..." 

"What for?" she asked while wiping away her tears. 

"For being there for me." 

"You're very welcome." 

"Oh, by the way, I talked with Hanada-san before coming home today like you suggested." 

"Is she going to come for dinner tomorrow?" 

He nodded. 

"I'm to go get her tomorrow and bring her here," he explained. "It's the least I could do." 

"That's good. I can't wait to meet her." 

"She's a very nice lady. I can't wait for you two to meet her as well." 

The boy headed off to his room to get ready to do his chores, but before he did, he sat down on his bed to think for a while, about what Miyako had said. Did Yamato _really_ have a thing for Mimi and if he did, why was it bothering him so much? 

He was with her when she found him at the Odaiba Observatory and he was told by Miyako that before Mimi had gone to look for him, she was out with Yamato on a late afternoon date. In the e-mail, Miyako put a lot of emphasis on the word "date." 

"Could it be true?" he asked himself in thought. "_Could_ Yamato-san have a thing for Mimi-san?" 

The boy shook his head, trying to dismiss the "uncomputable" thought. He didn't want to believe it, but there _had_ been a lot of evidence...   
********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Comments

Note 1: I never noticed this until someone else pointed it out. Koushirou really _hasn't_ associated with those younger than himself voluntarily and have a simple everyday conversation with them. He seems to always talk to those older than himself or either those his age. I mean, it's obvious that him and Miyako hang out quite a bit, but that's about it for the younger kids. He didn't even associate with Iori much and he had the Digimental of Knowledge. ::Mutters:: I still think Miyako should've gotten the Digimental of Knowledge instead of the Digimental of Love... 


	27. Dance Preparations Mimi's Surprise Visit...

Hey everyone, it's dance time! Just to let you know, the way Koushirou's presentation was described, is pretty much how Mimi's dance is going to be described. I have what happens before the dance and what happens after it, not what happens during it. Hope you all don't mind my doing that. The main reason I did it that way was because I personally couldn't think of anything _to_ use for the dance. 

Anyway, thank you for the reviews so far. They are highly appreciated. I guess I should also warn you. The beginning of this is OOC and goofy. :-p 

Now, as always, I do not own any of the characters or places associated with the anime, manga, games, etc.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 27: Dance Preparations; Mimi's Surprise Visitor!

Mimi: Surprise visitor? (Gives RP an annoyed look) Don't you think that's a bit _too_ personal! 

RP: What are you talking about? 

Mimi: You _know_ what I am talking about! I don't want everyone to know of my visitor! 

RP: Why not? You don't even know who it is yet... 

The girl started to complain some more until she realized what RP said. 

Mimi: Wait, did you say "who" as in a person? 

RP: Yeah, what _else_ would I be talking about? 

Mimi: (Nervous tone) Um, nothing. Hehehe. (Looks at her watchless wrist) My, my, my, look at the time. I better get going. ^^; 

The girl laughs nervously and takes off. 

RP: (Shakes head) Weird... 

Michael: I'll say. She never acted that weird back in New York. 

RP: I wouldn't know, now would I? 

Michael: Yeah, that's true, but if I were actually _in_ your fic as Mimi's boyfriend, I could tell you about these things... 

RP: Sorry Mike, you and Mimi aren't paired up for this fic. 

Michael: I wanted to talk to you about that! How could you do something so cruel! I only have _two_ fics of yours where we are an actual couple and that other fic of yours doesn't count since we broke up, apparently, and she got with someone else! You never wrote us together _to_ break us up! And for the other one, you had that Mimi and me were a couple, but it's just mentioned since I wasn't in that particular fic! 

RP: (Sighs) You're worse than Tentomon with the complaining. 

Michael: Okay, I'll quit complaining about that, but could I at _least_ make _one_ appearance in this fic? 

RP: (Smirks) Nope, sorry, besides this _is_ your one appearance. You will just have to wait until I decide to use you, _if_ I actually decide to. 

Michael: (Muttering) We International Chosens _never_ get any respect... 

RP: Let's leave Michael alone folks so you all can read on about Mimi's, (sarcastic tone), magical evening with her Prince Charming... 

Koushirou: I _resent_ that! 

Michael: So do I! 

Koushirou: What are _you_ doing here? 

Michael: I demand that I become Mimi's boyfriend for this fic!! _I_ should be her Prince Charming!! 

Koushirou: Why? I have more of a chance than you and you as her Prince Charming is highly inaccurate and uncomputable. (Sweat drops nervously/blushes slightly) I mean, since I am around and since we have a good friendship and all, _I_ have a better chance of course. ^^ 

Michael: What about me? 

Koushirou: What _about_ you? 

Michael: I feel that I have more of chance because Mimi and I have been through so much together, even though for this fic that was years ago, and, well um... 

Koushirou: Just as I thought! You can't even think of anything better than that! I have had more interaction with her than you, which proves how inaccurate your having a better chance with her, really is... 

Michael: You want to take this outside, Izumi? I'll show you just how "inaccurate" my fists can be! 

Koushirou: I normally don't resort to violence, but, (rolls up sleeves), _this_ time I will make an exception! (Fighting gesture) Bring it on!! 

Michael: _Glad_ly!! 

The two start to fight as a certain blonde shakes his head at the two. 

Yamato: Pitiful. (Turns to RP) Can you believe that they are fighting over Mimi when neither _one_ of them has a chance since _I'm_ the Prince Charming you were referring to? 

RP: I am _not_ a part of this so _don't_ include me in it... 

Yamato: Quit being modest RP. (Shines his nails in a cocky fashion) You _know_ I'm the _real_ Prince Charming here... 

Michael: Prince Charming this! 

Koushirou: Yeah!! I'll show you who the _real_ Prince Charming is! 

Koushirou and Michael heard what Yamato had said and tackled him who is now fighting as well. 

Yamato: (Punching) Don't get mad at me because what I said is true! 

Koushirou: Urusai omae! (Quiet you!) 

Yamato: _Make_ me! 

Michael: Sure thing! (Punches Yama) 

Yamato: Don't you start Mr. Prep! (Punches Michael) 

Michael: That's a dub thing! I do _not_ sound so annoying for the original!   
****   
RP: (Muttering) No kidding! I had to hit mute button when I first saw him for the dub...   
****   
Michael: (Punches Yama back) I'm the _per_fect guy for Mimi! 

Yamato: You have as much of a chance of getting with Mimi as Koushirou has of _not_ getting arrested for conducting illegal computer related activities! 

Koushirou: I do _not_ do anything illegal!! (Punches Yama) What has Bill Gates told you! (Grabs his collar and shakes him) What has Gates told you!! I demand that you tell me! 

Yamato: That you'll never be able to take over Microsoft to do your own evil bidding! 

Michael: (Laughs at Koushirou, but soon gets punched by him) 

RP: (Sighs/shakes head at the three) Men, can't live with them and can't multiply without 'em. 

*Gets a bunch of looks from the readers* 

RP: Um, let us leave these three immature boys and get back to the important characters who _don't_ make fools of themselves. ^^' 

The three boys stop fighting. 

Yamato/Michael/Koushirou: Hey, we aren't fools! 

RP: (Clears throat) Um, yeah, whatever, now let us get back to the _important_ characters... 

Palmon: Like my Mimi!! 

Hawkmon: Or Miyako-san! 

Agumon: Or Taichi! 

Piyomon: Or Sora! 

Patamon: Or Takeru! 

Wormmon: Or my Ken-chan! 

Gomamon: Or Jou! 

Armadimon: Or Io-- 

Tentomon: (Interrupting) And me!!! 

RP: Yep, all of them plus everyone else in this fic that you Digimon haven't mentioned, minus Tentomon. ^_^ (Looks at Tentomon and shakes her head) Pitiful, Tentomon, how selfish can one be... 

All three boys, along with Tentomon, give RP an annoyed look as the story continues...   
****   
It was later on in the evening and Mimi was getting ready for the dance. She, of course, had her favorite pals around to give their opinions on her ensemble... 

"Mimi-chan, you look _great_!" 

"Thank you, Yuko-chan." 

"That dress fits you_ per_fectly!" Chinatsu complimented. 

"_Def_initely!" Ayame agreed. 

"I wish I had a gown like that!" Yuko sighed dreamily. 

"How did you get the time to get it?" Ayame asked. "You never got the chance to shop for an outfit." 

"I bought this a while back for the Spring Dance I will be attending next month," she said while twirling around, looking herself over in the big mirror. "I'm going to _every_ dance they have for this upcoming school year!" 

"Lucky," Yuko said, sounding a bit envious. "At least you'll _have_ a date!" 

"Yeah, Koushirou," the girl said as she fixed her hair, trying to get it the way that she wanted it. 

All three girls' jaws dropped. 

"I_zu_mi!?" the three asked in surprise. 

The girl stopped looking herself over in the mirror and gave her friends a look of confusion. 

"What's wrong with Koushirou?" 

The three girls looked at each other and shrugged, Chinatsu then spoke up... 

"Nothing, we just thought that you would go with Yamato-san again." 

"You guys are silly. This is just a one time thing." 

"_Yet_ you went out with him yesterday for an afternoon date," Ayame pointed out. 

"_As_ friends, Ayame-chan. We spent yesterday together as friends. We are going to this dance together as friends as well...just like Koushirou and me for the Spring one." She then rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Well, he probably won't go to that one, but he already promised to be my date for _our_ Senior Dance next March." 

"So you two _are_ involved! That kiss I heard about _was_ a romantic one!" 

"Yuko-chan!" Chinatsu and Ayame yelled to their friend. 

"Oops," she sweatdropped with a goofy grin on her face. 

"Ro_man_tic?!? Are you _kidding_!?!" Mimi asked, feeling slightly nervous. "That was a friendship kiss! I have never had a romantic kiss with _any_one. Think what you will, but it is true." 

The girl blushed a bit after saying that. She had no idea why she had kissed him. At least the other time she had a reason, but this time, it was more of an insticts thing. She just couldn't resist doing it. 

"Don't be like that, Mimi-chan," Ayame said. 

"Yeah, we believe you," Chinatsu said. 

"We know you wouldn't lie about something as important as a kiss and its meaning," Yuko said. 

"Yes," Chinatsu agreed with a nod. "A girl's first romantic kiss is supposed to be very special and meaningful." 

"I can't _wait_ to get _my_ first kiss!" Yuko said, getting a starry-eyed look. 

There was a knock on Mimi's door. It was her aunt. 

"Hey girls." 

"Good evening, Nishimura-san," the three girls greeted. 

"Wow, Mimi, you look wonderful!" 

"Arigatou, obachan." 

"I wish I still had your figure," the woman laughed. "It goes away after a certain age and having two children." 

Yuko, who always had the most mature-looking body of the group, Mimi being second, spoke up. 

"I think I will skip out on having the children to keep _this_ beautiful figure," she said while twirling around as if she were in a fashion show. 

"Oh, you mean the figure that no boy ever notices since they're all noticing Mimi-chan," Ayame laughed. 

"Hey!" 

"I'm just kidding." 

"I came up to see if you needed anything, Mimi." 

"Nope, I'm fine. I'm just kind of nervous." 

"What for?" her aunt asked. 

"This is one of the most important events of the year for the seniors! I'm just nervous because of how important this dance is supposed to be. What if this dress isn't formal enough? Does my hair look okay? What about these gloves? Do _they_ look okay?" 

"You'll be fine and believe me, that gown is be_yond_ formal!" Sué said, giving her a hug. 

"She's right," Chinatsu agreed. "It _is_ quite fancy." 

"Oh no!" Mimi said in alarm. "What if it's _too_ fancy!" 

"Calm down and enjoy your dance," her aunt told her. "It'll be just like _any_ other dance you have been to." 

"I guess you all are right," she smiled. "I'm probably worrying over nothing." 

"We better get going," Chinatsu said, noticing the clock. "Yamato-san should be getting here soon." 

"I'll walk you guys down." 

The girl walked her friends down to the door. When the three were leaving and opened the front door, they were surprised to find Koushirou standing at the front door. He was _just_ about to ring the bell when the door opened. 

"What are _you_ doing here?" Yuko asked. 

"I just wanted to speak with Mimi-san," the boy responded quietly and nervously. 

"What for?" Yuko asked nosily. 

"If you were Mimi-chan, then he would tell you." 

"Chi_natsu_-chan!" 

"She's right, you know. We are _not_ Mimi-chan so he doesn't have to tell us anything." 

"A_ya_me-chan!" 

Right at that moment, Mimi walked out. 

"What's going on?" She then noticed Koushirou and asked in surprise, "_Kou_shirou, what are _you_ doing here?" 

"I-I-I just wanted to talk to you for a while before you left for your dance," he stammered nervously. 

Ayame grabbed one of Yuko's arms and said, "Saa..." 

"...ikou, Yuko-chan," Chinatsu finished, grabbing Yuko's other arm, pulling her along. 

"But I want to know what they're going to talk about! I'm supposed to keep up with the latest gossip!" she shouted as she was being led away. Streaked, anime-like tears ran down her face. "No fair!" 

After the two girls left, dragging Yuko behind, Mimi turned her attention back to Koushirou. 

"So, what's wrong?" 

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I just wanted to see you...I guess." 

"Oh-kay," Mimi said slowly, not really understanding what the big deal was. 

"I-I also wanted to wish you good luck," he said, growing more nervous. "I know how important this dance is to you, even though I didn't act as if it were when you first told me about your going." 

Mimi smiled to herself and realized that Koushirou was apologizing for all that happened before she went to Odaiba Elementary, something he obviously wasn't too used of doing. She could tell that he was sorry. She had honestly forgotten all about it. 

"Thanks, that's okay. I really appreciate your coming over here to see me off." 

"I hope that you and Yamato-san have a good time at the dance." 

"I wish you could come along." 

He gave out a light chuckle after she said that. 

"No underclassmen, remember? Besides, it is more common for a guy to ask out a younger girl than for a girl to ask out a younger guy and even if that was so, who would ask me anyway?" 

"Age doesn't matter and shouldn't between couples and friends." 

The girl then smiled at him. 

"I would ask you if _I_ were an upperclassman." She then sighed. "Too bad Sora-san is going with Taichi-san and I just found out that Chizuru-san has a date. You could have gone along with either one of them if they didn't have partners." 

"C'mon, Mimi-san, quit worrying about me. Just go and enjoy your dance." 

"Okay, okay. You're right. I _shouldn't_ be worrying myself." 

He gave her another forced smile, which Mimi didn't seem to even notice since she was so excited about the dance. Koushirou was about to compliment her, until a certain, handsome blonde-haired boy started to make his way up the Nishimura walkway, holding a beautiful, white Corsage. This _was_ a formal Westernized dance, afterall, and girls wearing Corsages was pretty much the thing to do. Since Mimi had lived in America for quite a while, she was already used of going to formal dances. Whenever her school had one, she would always go with Michael, but only as friends. 

"It's Yamato-san!" she squealed excitedly. "It's _finally_ time to go!" 

"Hey Mimi!" Yamato greeted with a smile. He then noticed the person standing next to her. "Hey Koushirou, what are _you_ doing here?" 

"Just passing by," he said in an unintentional jealous manner. 

The boy just shrugged at him and turned his attention back over to Mimi. 

"Wow, Mimi! You look very nice!" 

"Thank you," she blushed. 

The girl was wearing a fancy white sleeveless dress with matching gloves, shoes, and handbag. It also came with a white dress jacket. The reason the color she chose was white was because of white symbolizing purity and rebirth, which is pretty much what spring meant to her and many Japanese in general. 

Koushirou thought the dress was pretty on her too. He _still_ found it awkward and strange that he would actually think of Mimi in this way. The way he looked to her at the moment was the same way he saw her when he walked her home all those nights ago and how he had gotten "caught in her gaze, staring into her clear, innocent tan eyes," underneath that moonlit sky that shone brightly down on her. The boy shook those thoughts off and decided to not overstay his welcome. 

"I better go," he told the two. He then gave Yamato a look and a forced smile. "Have fun." 

"Ja, Koushirou!" the two waved to him. 

The boy walked off, trying to figure out what the point of his going over to Mimi's was. He just felt that he should. Right now, the way Miyako felt about Mimi, envious and a _tad_ bit jealous, was how Koushirou currently felt about Yamato. Yamato could have any girl he chose, but why Mimi? He was starting to grow incredibly jealous of Yamato and was starting to envy him as well. All of the girls liked Yamato, and now, according to Miyako and her observational skills, he _could_ have a thing for Mimi. 

"But _why_ do I care?" 

He kept muttering this to himself over and over as he made his way back home before he got into trouble for going over to Mimi's instead of going straight to the store and back like he was instructed to...   
****   
The Takaishi Household... 

The rest of the Chosens were over at Takeru's, Miyako included. She was in better spirits and figured that hanging out with her friends would help cheer her up some. If anyone could get her mind off of her troubles, Daisuke's goofiness could. He always acted silly and that always cheered everyone up. 

Since it _was_ their last day of school and they didn't have anything else better to do, Takeru invited everyone over. He didn't feel like sitting in the place by himself. His mother was out for the night on business. He could have gone to his father's place, but he was working late at the television station and he would have been by himself over there as well. It was just them, currently, the Chosen Children of Odaiba and Tamachi, if one wanted to get technical since Ken doesn't live in Odaiba. 

The only Chosens not there were Jou, Mimi, and Koushirou. It was awkward inviting Jou over for anything now-a-days, since he was so much older than them; besides, Jou had his own friends to hang out with, those moreso his age. 

Both Miyako and Takeru told the others how Yamato had asked Mimi to be his date for his dance and how she had accepted. 

Takeru didn't bother inviting Koushirou over, mainly because Mrs. Izumi told him that he was out when he called. When asked if he wanted leave a message for him, he decided not to. 

"I wish _we_ were old enough to go to their dance," Hikari frowned. 

"Stop worrying about it," Miyako told her. "When you're a senior, you'll be able to go." 

"Did your sister ever get asked?" Hikari asked. 

"Yeah, I never told you?" 

The girl shook her head. 

"She got asked out by some guy that's 19 years old!" 

"Wow!" Hikari exclaimed. "He's an adult!" 

"Your parents would let your sister date an adult?" Daisuke asked in surprise. He then whistled. "My parents would never let Jun date someone _that_ much older than her at your sister's age." 

"Well, it's okay because he's an old friend," she explained. "Her old friend, Manobu. His family and our family are good friends and have been for years. Besides, he has a girlfriend. He's just going with her as a favor. My sisters and me are like sisters to him and he's pretty much best buds with my brother. Chizuru-neechan was just teasing me yesterday to get me to come home. She knows how nosy I am." 

"At least she's going!" Hikari smiled. "I bet everyone is going to be staring at her when she gets there." 

"Bingo!" Miyako laughed. "That's the kind of attention she is hoping for." She then stopped laughing abruptly. "The weird thing, though, is that she kept muttering about showing Yamato-san that she can get a better date than him and that she didn't need him as a date. Who knows what she meant." 

"If you guys are finished with your gossip report, what do you all want to do tonight?" Takeru asked. 

"How about crashing OJH's Senior Dance!" Daisuke laughed. 

"Are you trying to get detention _before_ you start there next month?" 

"He's probably just joking around, Iori-kun," Ken told him. 

"How about going to the karaoke bar?" Miyako suggested. 

The goggleboy of the group stood up and took a deep breath and started to sing purposely offkey... 

*"Googuru wa akashi da ze...Ano hito kara ore e to...Watasareta taisetsu na...Monshou to onaji na no sa...Kakkoii daro!!" 

"Sing like that and they'll kick us out!" Takeru laughed. 

Everyone laughed, Daisuke included, and sat back down. 

"I don't like karaoke too much," Iori confessed. 

"How about discussing what we're going to do for our Spring Break!" Hikari proposed. 

"Absolutely nothing," Takeru sighed. 

"My friends and me are planning on going on a camping trip," Iori told the older kids of the group. "We are going to tomorrow." 

"That sounds like a pretty good idea," Ken complimented. "Why don't we take one too?" 

"Aww, I don't want to go camping," Hikari complained. 

"A _real_ vacation would be nice," Daisuke muttered. 

"How about a sleepover with all of our Digimon here." 

"Great idea, then we can all play _strip_ poke, but of course Takeru, Ken, Iori and I won't be playing..." 

Hikari and Miyako laughed and hit Daisuke playfully. They knew he wasn't serious. 

"How about we just play video games," Daisuke suggested after the attack from Hikari and Miyako. "It'll give us something to do for right now anyway." 

Every agreed and they all started to play video games...   
****   
After the Dance... 

When Yamato and Mimi left her place, they met up with both Taichi and Sora and made their way to the dance. The gym was beautifully decorated, thanks to Chizuru and the others on her decorations committee and the music was nice and upbeat. 

Of course, when the two walked in, they got lots of stares, some of them stares of awe, due to Mimi's outfit, and others giving Mimi looks of jealousy since Yamato _was_ the hearthrob of the school. Some boys stared at Yamato in jealousy since Mimi was one of the pretty and popular girls of the school who turned down dates with every guy who had ever approached her, but not in a rude way. In her nice, sweet, gentle way like she had done with Eijiro. 

She ignored this, though, and still managed to have a good time, even if she _did_ wish Koushirou was there with her. 

Mimi and Yamato weren't the only ones who drew a lot of attention when getting to the dance. Chizuru and her date drew lots of attention as well. She had come with an older guy afterall. Chizuru spoke with Yamato while at the dance, but he didn't really pay much attention to her _or_ her impressive date since all of his attention was on Mimi, but he _did_ compliment her on the good job on the decorating and he also invited her to hang with him and the others after the dance. The girl was annoyed by this, Yamato's ignoring her, but ignored it and had a good time anyway. 

Yamato was now walking a limping Mimi home from the school dance. He was holding her waist with one of his arms and had her put her arm around his shoulders so that she could keep her balance. It was a bit earlier than expected for both of them, but Yamato didn't mind the unexpected trip home. He didn't mind helping Mimi. 

"Sorry about what happened," Yamato apologized. 

"That's okay," the girl told him. "It's not _your_ fault that I'm such a klutz." 

During a fast song, Mimi got up to dance with Yamato, but she slipped and fell due to somebody spilling punch and _not_ cleaning it up. Mimi didn't see it and twisted her ankle in the process when she fell. When she fell, she ended up dragging Yamato down with her when trying to catch herself from falling. 

Sora and Taichi offered to walk with the two home, but Yamato told them to stay and enjoy the rest of the dance. Yamato didn't want their evening to be ruined. He knew how long Taichi had been wanting to ask Sora out just like himself with Mimi. 

"Sorry I ended up dragging you down with me when I fell." 

"That's okay," he told her. He then smirked and said, "I didn't mind." 

"Well, at least I got to enjoy _some_ of the dance," she smiled. 

"So, what did you think of it?" 

"Like any other dance, only this one is more memorable...if you're a senior. It's like a pregraduation celebration. It was really fun, only I would appreciate it more when I am an actual senior." 

"At least you had a good time." 

"I wonder who won for the best couple." 

"Who knows, but," Yamato hinted, "I bet the two look great together and would make a _wonderful_ couple." 

"I agree!" the girl smiled. "I voted for Taichi-san and Sora-san!" 

"_Tai_chi..._So_ra?!?" the boy said, nearly dropping from the response. "I voted for _us_! No matter _how_ many hints I throw at her, she misses all of them!" he muttered to himself. 

"Didn't you vote for them?" she asked, glancing over at the tall boy. 

"Yeah...right...Taichi & Sora..." he responded unenthusiastically. 

"Don't tell me you didn't!" 

"Of course, of course," he sweat dropped. "Who _else_ would I have voted for?" 

The girl smiled at Yamato as they continued their walk, which only lasted a bit longer, finally reaching the Nishimura household. 

"There you are, safe and sound," he said, letting her go. "Do you need any help getting in?" 

The girl shook her head. 

"I'll manage, you've already been a great help already." 

The boy smiled at her. 

"Thanks for the walk home and I had a _wonderful_ time at the dance! I can't wait to tell Koushirou about it." 

"_Kou_shirou?" Yamato asked. "Why him?" 

"It wold make sense to." 

"It would?" 

She nodded. 

"He _is_ going to be my date for it." 

"Your _date_?!?" 

"Yeah, I already told him that I would love to have him as my date for our Senior Dance next year." 

"Oh," the boy said, too surprised to say anything more dealing with Koushirou. He then tried his best to change the subject. "So, Mimi, do you want to go out sometime?" 

"Sure, we could invite everyone and go on an outing." 

The boy shook his head. 

"No, I meant just us...I mean, when your ankle is better that is." 

"Sure, it would be fun. I had fun when we went out yesterday afternoon and maybe this time, I'll be able to relax." 

He nodded as he watched the girl enter the big house. He shook his head at the whole thing. He was wondering what the deal was with Koushirou and Mimi. He heard about the kiss too. Were the two a secret couple and they had just let their guard down when kissing earlier that day? The boy shook his head at that thought. Mimi would never keep a secret like that. He then sighed and walked off towards his home...   
****   
Time Mimi closed the door of the house, she was attacked and practically smothered by the big hug she was receiving. 

"I_sa_ko-chan, what are_ you_ still doing up? It's after 9:00!" 

"Mamii said it was okay for me to stay up and wait for you, oneechan!" 

Mrs. Nishimura walked in laughing at how cute Isako was acting. 

"You're home quite early. I wasn't expecting you home no earlier than 11:00. I knew Isako would have just fallen asleep eventually while waiting." 

"Kou-chan was here earlier too!" 

"Yes, I know. I talked with him before I left to go to the dance." 

"When you _weren't_ here!" the girl told her. She then frowned. "He looked sad again." 

"He was just wandering and watched you off. Isako went out to talk with him, but he _nicely_ told her that he couldn't stay. Is there anything bothering him that you know of?" 

The girl shook her head and shrugged. She had no idea what-so-ever what could have been bothering him. Before she left, he seemed quite normal to her. 

"He _always_ seems a bit depressed, but I didn't get that impression when I left with Yamato-san earlier. I wonder if his adoption and the pregnancy is bothering him again..." 

"Adoption, pregnancy?" Sué asked. 

"What does adoption mean, mommy?" 

"Adoption is when you can't live with your real mommy and daddy and you get a new mommy and daddy." 

"Oh..." 

"Now that you know, you go on to bed." 

"Aww!" 

The girl did as her mother instructed and went to bed, leaving the two who were still talking. Mimi told her aunt about how Koushirou was really adopted and that Mrs. Izumi was pregnant. 

"I guess that would depress anyone, but congrats on Yoshie's pregnancy. I'm surprised she didn't tell me or anyone else. I should give her a call and wish her luck." 

"I'm going to go over there now to talk with him." 

The girl started to limp towards the door until she was stopped by her aunt. 

"You aren't going anywhere with that limp of yours. You look as if you sprained your ankle." 

The girl explained how she had slipped and fell while dancing. 

"Get into bed right now and I'll bring you an ice pack for your ankle. You don't want it to get swollen." 

The girl sighed and nodded. She went up to her room to rest her ankle like her aunt instructed. When she got to her room, she stared out of the window, wondering what was wrong with Koushirou _this_ time. For the rest of the night, that was on her mind. She also had wished that Koushirou had been her date to the dance. She thought it was strange that she would think that way, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't get him off of her mind. 

She wanted to think of Koushirou as "Koushirou," not as a slightly handsome boy she _could_ be getting a thing for. 

The girl then stared up at the brightest star in the sky...   
****   
Same time as Mimi... 

Ironically, Koushirou was sitting in his room, staring out his window, wondering about Mimi and how her dance was going. To his knowledge, it should've still been going on and that she was probably still out. 

Ever since he saw Mimi leave with Yamato, he hadn't been able to get her off of his mind. He hated that. He didn't want to think of Mimi as pretty, he wanted to think of her as Mimi. 

The boy stared up at the brightest star in the sky... 

"Koushirou-kun/Mimi-san, what is it about you that makes me so drawn to you...why do things have to change..."   
********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Comments

Note 1: That's a verse from Daisuke's image theme, _Goggle Boy_ just to let you all know. That particular part translates to, "These goggles are the proof...Passed on from him to me...They're as precious...As a Crest...Aren't they cool?" I only used that part of the song because I like that part the most. To Daisuke, Tai's goggles are his Crest of Courage. The song in general is about how he cherishes the goggles that Tai gave him and how they're "his goggles" now. ^_^ 


	28. Never End

Hey everyone. This is the most hintiest Koumi/Mishirou related stuff for this entire fic! It's pretty much mutual between the both of them, but it may not turn out the way some of you are expecting it to. I even surprised my_self_ with this! Just read on to find out what I mean. There is also another coupling in here which also surprised me since I'm not a big fan of the pairing. It's okay, but I find other couplings including the two more interesting and stuff. Now, as always, I do not own any of the characters and/or places associated with the game, manga, show, etc., and don't forget to comment. ^_^ 

Also, the singers and groups mentioned in this part are actual singers and/or groups in Japan. Oh, and what _really_ inspired me to write this part, the stuff dealing with Mimi and Koushirou anyway, was listening to the song _Never End_ by Namie Amuro which I love to death! I really appreciate DavidAP, to whom this part is dedicated to, for sending me that song. I would like to thank him for sending that song to me! Arigatou gozaimasu, Davy-kun!! :Gives him a big hug: Thank you _so_ much for this song!! It's so pretty and to those who actually like JPop/JRock or Japanese music in general, I really recommend this song to you. It's so good! And the lyrics fit this part imho, well a small portion of it to me. Sorry for rambling, but I can't _not_ like this song! ^_^ 

Something else, the rest of this fic is going to have "time gaps" in between or flashbacks. Like this part of this fic takes place in July, but flashes back to April and before you all flame me, the _true_ fans that is, for this part in general, you'll get a better explanation, I hope, as for _why_ things turned out the way that they did in the next part. ^^ 

Well, anyway, on with the story, and thanks again DavidAP. I hope you enjoy this angst-influenced part. ^_^   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 28: Never End...

It was a nice July night in the city of Odaiba and we now see an Odaiba Junior High Senior typing away on his computer. This person was the still 14-year-old Izumi Koushirou along with his faithful Digimon companion, Tentomon, who was currently sleeping. He was doing a bit of research for Professor Nagare and Professor Boshi as of the moment. He had been doing that quite a bit lately with his free time. He had also been spending more time at home and helping out his now, five month pregnant mother as much as he possibly could. 

Right now, he was a bit preoccupied with all that had happened over the past few weeks and thinking back to that past April when the Cherry Blossom Festival had taken place. Since they were in Odaiba, the Cherry Blossom Viewing always took place during the earlier part of April, but depending on which part of Japan one lived, the blossoming could last up until May. 

The boy stopped typing on his computer and stared out of his window with a sigh, thinking back to a day that had remained with him for a good while now. The night that things changed between him and Mimi... 

Flashback Sequence On> 

It had been a few weeks since the Senior Dance that Yamato had taken Mimi to. Nothing changed much after that. Yamato _did_ find every excuse possible to hang out with Mimi, even though Mimi never seemed too interested in hanging with Yamato, not in the romantic sense anyway. She still treated him as a friend. Koushirou, on the other hand, didn't know what to make of it. Yamato and Mimi had been hanging out a lot more lately, just the two of them, and Koushirou had finally accepted the fact that he _had_ gotten a crush on Mimi ever since they were paired up to work on that project. Koushirou enjoyed spending all of his free time with Mimi. The more he hanged out with Mimi, the more he didn't sit in front of his computer since he had something to actually do. 

One thing that didn't change at all was Mimi's boy problem in general. They still bothered her since they knew her and Yamato weren't a couple and everyone knew that she _was_n't dating Koushirou, so that left her open for guys to ask her out. Time and time again, Mimi would nicely explain how she wasn't interested, but they never seemed to get the idea or take the hint. Persistence wasn't too becoming to her when it came to boys constantly hounding her for a date. Mimi's friends, Sora and the others included, could literally tell that she was growing annoyed by this, but there wasn't much they could do to help. 

Right now, Koushirou was on his way to the park to meet up with Mimi, and the others, for the Cherry Blossom Festival that was being held that particular night. Sure it was occuring a bit later this year, the actual festival--it was during the latter half of April instead of the usual beginning when the actual blossoming and viewing was--but he _did_ promise to go and he didn't really mind. He knew how Mimi liked stuff like that; besides, it is a well-known Japanese tradition and one of the more pleasant ones and going to the festival _was_ usually fun, with all of the games and all. 

This year, there was going to be a concert held in the park to help celebrate. There were going to be local bands playing there as well, and Yamato's was one of them. One thing Koushirou didn't have to worry about that night was Yamato hanging around and trying his best to get Mimi's attention. One person to perform at the concert was the famous singer, Namie Amuro. She was going to perform some older songs of hers as well as her latest works. Mimi was _really_ looking forward to it since she enjoyed her music. 

The others were pretty busy to go along. Miyako _really_ wanted to go. Namie Amuro was one of her favorite singers as well as idols like Utada Hikaru (Hikki), Maeda Ai (AiM), the female JPop group Dream, Kuraki Mai, Hamasaki Ayumi, and the foreign Korean singer, BoA who was not only fluent in one language, but three: Korean, Japanese, _and_ English! 

Unfortunately, the now 14-year-old girl had to watch her parents' store since they had to attend to some business out of town for the entire day and neither one of them had returned yet and both of her sisters were busy. Momoe was still away on her Senior Class Graduation Trip to Europe and Chizuru, as well as Jou, Sora and Taichi, had lots of school work that needed to get done since they were now first and second year High-School students, and of _course_ her brother, Mantarou, wasn't available since he was still in college. 

Surprisingly, Yamato had a late band rehersal earlier that afternoon and had been practicing during all of it since they had to perform that night, so that just left her and Koushirou. The younger kids were attending the festival too, but she hadn't seen them yet. Mimi really didn't mind since she enjoyed spending time with Koushirou. A lot more than even _she _ever admitted. He was _always_ on her mind, way more than Yamato has or probably ever willbe. 

The girl had told Koushirou to meet her in front of the ticket booth and that they would go towards the stage. She had special permission to go up there because of her Uncle and because of Yamato since his band was performing there. In order to attend this particular festival, the concert part anyway, you needed to have purchased a ticket to attend and the money from the ticket sales would go to needy families and orphanages. This was more of a Charity Concert than an actual festival. 

"I wonder where Koushirou and the others are." 

Right at that moment, Koushirou walked up along with a few Chosen friends of theirs. He had run into Daisuke, Ken, Hikari, Takeru, and Iori on his way in. 

The girl waved to the group and ran up to them. Mimi was wearing a pink kimono that her mother, who was visiting Japan along with her father for that week, had bought her for the occasion and with her hair tied back into a single pony tail with some of her hair down on the sides. Pretty much the way she wore it when she was a younger, only in a more teenage looking fashion. It wasn't really mandatory to dress up, but Mimi always enjoyed dressing up for such an occasion. She enjoyed festivals a lot. Even though the concert was something new, there was still the traditional stuff afterwards. Hikari was also dressed in a kimono. Her kimono was a bright yellowish color. 

"You all finally got here!" 

"Too bad my brother couldn't come along," Hikari sighed sadly. "Oniichan is busy studying and doing school work along with Sora-san. Both were upset that they couldn't come to the festival and the concert, but they didn't mind staying back to study together. They just said that it'll be an unsupervised date. The two have been dating for only a few weeks now. I'm glad that my brother is happy," she smiled. "I'm sure that both oniichan and Sora-san'll be happy since they won't have to worry about mom and dad bugging them since they are coming to the festival too, but they aren't coming until after the stuff dealing with the concert." 

"Nothing wrong with that, but I hope the two of them don't work too hard," Mimi said. 

"It's senpai you have to worry about!" Daisuke laughed. 

"Yeah," Ken laughed along, "Kido studies 24/7!" 

The place was still a bit empty since the concert didn't start for another half hour. They just wanted to get there early so that they all could meet up with one another. They also wanted to get there early so that they could talk with Yamato, if the chance ever came up, to wish him and his band good luck. 

"I hope my brother decides to take a break." 

The boy seemed a bit nervous after saying that. It sounded as if whatever it was he wanted to discuss with his brother was quite important. 

"Takeru-san, what is the matter?" Iori asked. 

"Nothing," he assured the younger boy. "I just wanted to talk with my brother right before the concert." 

"It's a real shame that Miyako-san couldn't come," Ken said. 

"I know, she really likes the singers and groups that are going to be performing tonight," Hikari said. "Too bad she had to watch the store." 

"Oye, minna-san!" they heard a voice call loudly to them. 

The group turned to see a familiar glasses-wearing girl running up towards them. 

"Miyako-kun," Koushirou said, identifying the person running towards them. 

The girl ran up to the group wearing a lavendar colored kimono. As a matter of fact, the entire group was dressed up in kimonos, minus Koushirou who could no longer fit in his and hadn't thought about getting another one until right before he left his home to attend the festival. Daisuke was wearing a blue kimono, Iori was wearing a beige one, Ken was wearing a grey one, and Takeru was wearing a green one. 

"Hi everyone!" Miyako smiled. 

"Great, you made it!" Takeru said happily. 

"My mom and dad came back _finally_! Dad is watching the store now, so I hurried down here as fast as I could! I just _couldn't_ miss out on this concert! It's _so_ cool that Nishimura-san got tickets for all of the closest and bestest friends of Mimi-oneesama!" 

"Yeah, but don't let Yuko-chan, Chinatsu-chan, or Ayame-chan hear you say something like that." 

"They didn't know about the tickets?" Miyako asked. 

The girl shook her head. 

"Oh, so I won't tell then." 

"How about we all go get seats now," Iori suggested. "I would rather be in the front where I can see the best." 

"Sure. These tickets are good for close up seats anyway, and the passes are for backstage," Mimi smiled. 

"Iori-kun, Iori-_kun_!" 

The boy turned at the mentioning of his name to see a girl about his age. She was wearing a light blue kimono and wore a messy pony tail. 

"_Ei_ji-san!?!" 

"Hi Iori-kun," the girl smiled at him. "I didn't know you were into concerts!" 

"I am really here for the actual festival, but since I was invited to go to the concert as well, I decided to attend." 

"Oh, well can I join you and your friends?" 

"What about your family?" Iori asked. "I am sure you came along with them." 

The girl "hmmphed" and crossed her arms in annoyance. 

"Yeah _right_!" she scoffed. "I have a ticket for the worst seat here, right in the back! My mom is too busy with my stepbrothers and my stepfather to stay. She just dropped me off and said 'have a good time.' She _always_ does things like that! That is why I stay over at my cousin's so much, but he's busy tonight studying." 

"I am sure that it is okay for you stay with us," he told his friend. "Is it, Mimi-san?" 

"Sure. We have a couple of extra tickets and passes anyway since Jou-senpai, Taichi-san, and Sora-san didn't show up. I still have their tickets since they knew ahead of time that they weren't going to be able to make it. They gave them back to me a while ago." She then wondered out aloud, "I wonder how Yamato-san and the others were able to get out of studying to perform tonight?" She then shook her head. "Never mind that, here you go, Eiji-chan." 

She handed the younger girl the ticket and pass who accepted them gratefully. 

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Mimi-san," the girl bowed. 

*"Dou itashimashite," she smiled to her. 

More and more people started to arrive and started to take their seats. They all sat in the front row, the best seats in the house. Miyako sat beside Koushirou and beside him, sat Mimi, then Daisuke, then Iori, then Eiji, then Hikari, and then Takeru. Ken took the free seat beside Miyako. 

During the wait for the concert to begin, Takeru grabbed his pass and went backstage. He really had something important to say to his brother. A short while later, the boy returned smiling a bit. 

"Where did you run off to?" Hikari whispered. 

He smiled nervously and whispered back, "You'll see. I have a surprise for you." 

"A surprise?" 

The boy nodded as the lights went down and everyone turned their attention towards the stage as the show began. Everyone enjoyed the show a lot, especially Miyako who loved JPop in general. 

The next band to perform was a JRock band that all of the girls loved. An all-boy JRock group who went by the name, GLAY. Daisuke shook his head. He didn't get what girls saw in them, his sister and her friends included, but he knew better than to say that around a rabid GLAY fan. He learned his lesson when he bad-mouthed the group in front of his sister a couple of years earlier. His headache lasted for quite a while from the punch she gave him. 

During the entire concert, Koushirou didn't pay attention to any of the performances onstage; not entirely anyway. His focus was on Mimi. Lately, he had been catching himself staring at her as if he had no control over it. Luckily for him, he always caught himself and stopped himself from staring too much to avoid being noticed by her or anyone else. 

"Keep yourself together, Izumi!" he told himself. "I have _got_ to stop staring at her like that! That is _not_ prodigious at all, let alone normal! She, as well as others, might think I am some kind of a fool or something." 

The next group to perform onstage were the amateur groups. They were all good, but everyone who knew of them, were waiting for Yamato and the Teen-Age Wolves! When they got onstage, they got just as much of an applause as the professionals. 

"The surprise is coming up for you," Takeru whispered quickly to Hikari. 

The girl smiled. She always liked surprises, especially those from good friends. 

After Yamato's group performed most of their songs, Yamato got onto the microphone to make an announcement. 

"Thank you everyone! Now, we have one more song for you tonight and it's an original song written by someone I know quite well and this song is a surprise for a very special friend of his..". 

Yamato then looked down into the audience and winked at his brother and gave him a thumbs up. Takeru smiled and nodded to him. 

Yamato counted off as the band began to play and Yamato started to sing the lyrics. The name of the song was *_Focus_ and Takeru had written it. He had been hanging out with his brother and his band for a good while now, and they helped him get a tune to it so that his brother could sing the words to it. Takeru always felt that his brother had a better voice than him singing wise and didn't even want to _attempt_ singing it. 

Everyone listened to the beautifully written song and Hikari blushed a bit. No one else knew that the song was for her since Takeru obviously hadn't mentioned it to anyone else. She understood the meaning of the song and looked over at Takeru who smiled nervously at her. He then mouthed out to her, "Kimi no kokoro no fookasu dare ni?" 

The girl mouthed out to Takeru, with a blush, "Kimi wa boku no kokoro no chuushin." 

She just couldn't help it. Takeru had done something very sweet for her and it was drawing her to him once again. Actually, she had started getting drawn to him again anyway, but the song just helped it along. She thought it was cute that Takeru went through the trouble to admit how he felt about her the way that he had. 

Mimi and Miyako got starry eyed looks and said that the song was cute, meaning wise and all. Koushirou and the others just clapped as others in the audience did. They thought it was a nice song, but they weren't the mushy-romantic types either... 

After the concert, everyone left for the festival to play the games and enjoy the sites. Takeru and Hikari decided to hang out by themselves to talk for a bit. Daisuke just shrugged at this and hurried to go play the games. Eiji dragged Iori along with her to play games along with Daisuke, even though Iori wasn't much of a game person, but he did like the challenge. 

All that was left now, were Ken, Miyako, and Koushirou. Yamato had asked Mimi to meet with him after the show, which she did. She had her pass, so it was okay for her to go. The others were planning on going later to meet the stars from the show, but the stars, of course, had to rest and make themselves presentable for their fans. 

"Why don't we go play some Festival Games and then have some snacks and then meet back in time for the big parade!" Miyako exclaimed, anxious to get started. 

"Sure, sounds like fun to me," Ken agreed. 

The redhead shook his head. 

"No thanks. I'm going to wait around for Mimi-san. You guys go on ahead and we will catch up with you." 

Ken shrugged and said, "Okay." Miyako, on the other hand, wanted Koushirou to go along with them and really didn't feel like taking no for an answer. 

"Aww, Izumi-senpai, can you _please_ come with us?" 

"How about telling me which booth you are planning on going to and then that way Yamato-san, Mimi-san, and I can meet you and Ichijouji-kun there." 

"The goldfish one," Ken told him. He then smiled a bit. "How about I win one for you, Miyako-san?" 

The girl laughed. 

"I haven't seen anyone win that yet. I always lose myself. I can never scoop the goldfish up because the paper always tears." 

"Who knows, maybe we will both have good luck this year and win it," Ken said with confidence. 

"Maybe, let's go!" 

The two ran off to the goldfish scooping booth, in hopes of winning a goldfish to take home, leaving Koushirou standing around waiting for Mimi and Yamato. Miyako didn't mind leaving him behind _too _much since he said that he was waiting for Yamato as well. 

Koushirou, after Miyako and Ken had run off, didn't know why he had such a "dreaded" feeling about Mimi and Yamato, which is why he had volunteered to wait around for them. 

A while later, Koushirou saw Mimi leaving from backstage. To him, she looked a bit confused and in deep thought, but he decided to greet her anyway. 

"Hi, Mimi-san." 

The girl walked by, totally ignoring Koushirou. She hadn't even realized that he had spoken to her since she was in such deep thought over what Yamato had discussed with her. The boy shrugged and tried again to get Mimi's attention by running up beside her. 

"Mimi-san?" 

The girl stopped walking and saw Koushirou staring at her, trying his best to get her attention. 

"Oh, Koushirou...hi there." 

Koushirou figured that something was wrong from the tone in her voice. She didn't sound as enthusiastic or happy as she did before she went to see Yamato. 

"Is something wrong?" 

The girl started to say something until a certain blonde-haired boy showed up. 

"Are you ready to go play the festival games yet, Mimi?" 

The girl turned and gave him a look which _clearly_ meant to back off for a while. He got the hint and decided to leave. 

"Oh, you're not finished yet. Well, I'll go back to the stage area and wait around for you there. How is that?" 

The girl nodded and forced on a smile. Yamato walked off, leaving Koushirou and Mimi. It was a very pretty night and all of the stars were clearly visible, but there was lots of noise around due to the festival activities that were going on. 

"Um, Koushirou, do you mind if we went someplace a bit quieter so that we can talk?" 

The boy nodded. He had _no_ idea what was bothering Mimi. Whatever it was, it sounded serious. The two walked off a little ways from where all of the festival activities were being held and went to a more secluded part of the park where lots of Sakura Trees were and had beautiful Cherry Blossoms on all of them. 

"Wow, it sure is pretty out here," the girl said, feeling a bit nervous. 

The girl looked up at the sky at all of the pretty stars. 

"I bet that star is the North Star," she said with an uneasy laugh. 

Koushirou smiled at her a bit. She was terrible at Astronomy, but decided to humor her anyway. 

"You're close," he said. 

All of a sudden, the two heard music playing. It was coming from the stage area. 

"Another concert?" Koushirou asked. 

"Amuro-sama has another performance coming up pretty soon and she is practicing some more," Mimi explained. "I think she is going to perform more of her older songs, stuff from going as far back as seven or eight years." 

"Oh, that explains it then." 

The boy noticed that Mimi seemed a bit uneasy. 

"What's wrong?" 

The girl decided to stop standing there and to let Koushirou know what was on her mind. Right when she was about to talk, Mimi recognized the song that Namie Amuro was now practicing. Her song, *_Never End_. Koushirou heard it too, but didn't pay much attention to it since his attention was moreso on Mimi, but she did and she felt that it was making things harder on her. 

"Does whatever you have to say have to do with Yamato-san?" 

She nodded slowly. 

"Did he make you upset?" he asked in concern. "If so, I can try to talk to him and straighten things out. At least Yamato-san doesn't resort to violence like Taichi-san." 

"No, no! He didn't do anything bad to me. I just wanted to tell you something about him." The girl tried her best not to cry. "It's really good news." 

"_Good_ news?" 

The girl nodded slowly and forced on a smile, a half one, but still remained nervous. 

"I, he, we are...on...well, you see...we are planning on seeing one another." 

The girl sighed out in relief when she said that. She had finally gotten that off of her chest. Koushirou, on the other hand, was surprised to hear such a thing. He tried his best to remain calm, though. He really liked Mimi and the boy he had always been semi jealous of, had gotten her. 

Yamato had asked Mimi, in not so many words, if they could become an official couple, but before Mimi could entirely, she told him that she would have to talk with Koushirou first. He shrugged, gave in to her wishes and she had gone off to find him. The thing is, Yamato had said stuff like this before, but this time he sounded as if he were pretty serious about it; wanting to get together. Singing the song that his brother had wrote, had helped convince him to ask. He told her that the way that his brother felt about Hikari was the exact same way he felt about her. Mimi hated to string him on the way that she was and pretty much agreed to it, but that wasn't her _main_ reason for doing so. 

"That's great, Mimi-san," Koushirou said, trying to hide his jealousy and the fact that the news had upset him tremendously. "I wish you and Yamato-san the best of luck." 

The girl felt like crying. She really felt like she had "dumped" Koushirou even though the two were never officially together. She actually had a _terrible_ crush on Koushirou since she _had_ gotten closer to him over the past few weeks, but just like with Koushirou, for a while anyway, she wouldn't admit it to herself. She also wouldn't _allow_ herself to like Koushirou in that way and was hoping that going out with Yamato would help, but that was only a part of her reason for agreeing to date Yamato which led to a bigger reason. 

"That's all you have to say?" Mimi asked, her eyes starting to water. "I know there is more." 

"No, not really," he shrugged, his eyes fixed on the ground. He then stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. "You just wanted to share your good news and I can understand that." 

The boy lifted up his head and noticed that Mimi was starting to shed tears, which caused him to panic a bit. 

"Don't cry, Mimi-san!" the boy said, waving his hands around. "I didn't mean to upset you!" 

The girl shook her head and wiped her tears away. 

"No, you didn't upset me. I just hope that we can still be good friends." 

The boy forced on a smile. The way he was acting was pretty much how he had in front of Tentomon when he asked him why he was so intent on finding out more about him and he thought back to his parents discussing his adoption. 

"_Sure_ we can!" 

The boy hated lying to Mimi. He was sure that they could still be friends, but it's not going to change the fact that he now saw Mimi as more than a friend. He wanted to tell her that badly, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Sharing his feelings was one thing he _still_ hadn't gotten used of doing and he still bottled all of them up pretty much. He just normally put everything in the back of his mind and would purposely get preoccupied with something else to get whatever is bothering him, off of his mind. 

"I'm glad you are taking this well. I thought that you would end up hating me." 

"I wouldn't hate you and why _wouldn't_ I take your news well? Sure you are now officially the girlfriend of the most popular boy in the city who could get with any girl that he chooses, but I'm okay with it." 

The boy stopped after he made his sarcastic remark. It was unintentional, though. Mimi frowned. 

"Gomen," he apologized. "I guess I'm just surprised. I didn't think you were the type that would go for guys like that." 

"Yeah, I know, but never mind that. I just want us to still be friends." 

The girl grabbed both of Koushirou's hands, her eyes flooded with silent tears. 

"I don't want our friendship to _ever_ end, Koushirou. Promise me that!" 

The boy looked into Mimi's eyes and nodded. 

"I promise...our friendship will never end..." 

The two then did something that surprised the both of them; they kissed. The Sakura petals blew from the Cherry Blossom trees all around them. For both, this was their first "real" kiss. 

It was a long and passionate kiss the two shared. One that Mimi would consider meaningful. 

After the two broke, both blushed furiously, Koushirou more so. He couldn't quite explain what came over him for him to do such a thing. Mimi was surprised as well, but was "glad" that it happened, sort of. It had been building up for quite a while and it probably would've ended up happening sooner or later anyway. 

The girl started to back away from Koushirou, mixed emotions running through her mind. She liked Koushirou, shared a passionate kiss with him, loved every moment of it and would've loved sharing another kiss with Koushirou, and yet, she was still going to Yamato. 

"What...just happened…" 

"I-I don't know!" Mimi stammered. "It-it-it just happened." 

Neither one could say much of anything and just stood there, listening to the beautiful song that Amuro was singing. She was just about to finish up, _Never End_. This brought more tears to the young girl's eyes. The song was so beautiful, yet terribly sad to her since the song, to her, was pretty much a "break up" song. 

The girl mouthed out, "I'm sorry," to her friend and ran off. She didn't understand _what_ had happened. She couldn't like him; she wouldn't _let_ herself like him in that way! It wasn't meant to be. 

He watched her run off. Her running off left him more puzzled than what he was before. What did it mean? Did she hate him? Why did she feel the need to share such news with him in the first place? Why did they kiss? Why didn't they stop? Why didn't _Mimi_ stop? Why didn't _he_ stop? These questions wracked the brain of the young computer genius for the rest of the night after Mimi had run off. 

He never did join up with Miyako and the others for the rest of the Festival and the parade. He wasn't up to it and he had a lot on his mind for right now. He was upset, jealous, envious, and content all at the same time. 

Upset, because of Mimi's decision to date Yamato, jealous and envious because Yamato was now Mimi's boyfriend, but content because he had gotten a _real_ kiss out of Mimi and it seemed meaningful to him. He was still mixed up, though. Why would Mimi give him such a kiss, just to run back to Yamato? 

He stuck his hands into his pockets and walked home, sighing over the entire thing. He _just_ didn't get it. What did Mimi want and what did she see in Yamato? 

Flashback Off> 

He just sighed over the whole situation and went back to his research. The two remained good friends, as promised, but it still was awkward for him. He never let anyone get that impression, but it was. 

It was awkward because he still liked Mimi a lot, and he now knew that she didn't like him since she _did_ choose to go with Yamato over him, even though he never made any attempt to; just secretly desired to. This is the way he saw it and the way he assumed it. It _still_ didn't compute to him. 

"Koushirou-han, Koushirou-han!" 

The boy lifted his head up to see Tentomon flying in front of him, trying to get his attention. 

"Oh, Tentomon. I'm sorry. I was just preoccupied with this research for Nagare-hakase and Boshi-hakase." 

The bug shook his head. He figured that something else was the matter with his friend. 

"Is something wrong, Koushirou-han?" 

"No, everything is fine." 

"But I have been trying to get your attention for almost five minutes now. You were spaced out!" 

"I told you, it's the research." 

"Couldn't we go hang out with the others?" Tentomon asked. "It's boring just doing research. It would be nice to see the rest of your friends and the other Digimon. It's a very nice night out, Koushirou-han." 

"That's nice, but I would rather stay here and study these Star Charts." 

"If you insist," Tentomon sighed, giving up on his friend, "but I still would rather see the others." 

Right at that moment, an icon started to blink on Koushirou's screen. 

"You have mail," Tentomon told him. 

The boy nodded and clicked the icon. Tentomon read the e-mail address and identified the sender. 

"It's from Mimi-han." 

Koushirou just shrugged and went back to his research. 

"Aren't you going to open your e-mail?" 

"I shall check it later. I really ought to finish this." 

"But she is your friend." 

Koushirou grew slightly annoyed by his Digimon's statement and shouted at him. 

"Don't you think I _know_ that! Don't you think that I know that Mimi-san is my friend and that that's the way it will _always_ be between us! I _know_ that Tentomon! You don't have to remind me of it!" 

The Digimon looked over at his paranoid friend, wondering what was bothering him. He didn't know about what had happened between him and Mimi that past April _or_ of his crush on Mimi in general. 

"Koushirou-han, are you feeling okay?" he asked in concern. 

The boy shook his head. He was being a bit uptight. 

"I'm sorry Tentomon, I'm fine. I guess I'm a bit tired. I've been sitting here the entire evening." 

"But what about your e-mail? Are you mad with Mimi-han?" 

"Of course not and just to prove it to you, I'll check her e-mail _right_ now." 

The boy clicked the icon and read the e-mail, Tentomon reading over his shoulder. 

"Wow, Mimi-han has invited you to join her at the beach tomorrow. Are you going to go or are you going to spend your time at the Observatory again?" 

Koushirou thought about this. Should he go or shouldn't he go, was the question. 

"I suppose I'll go. It _has_ been a while and I haven't really done anything since my summer break began." 

"That's the spirit! It's about time you decided to go out and have some fun, Koushirou-han!" 

"Yeah…fun…" 

He sighed and stared at the computer screen. The only thing he was wondering, was if Mimi had invited just him, or was it another Chosen Children get together, but thinking about it, should it have really mattered? What he really liked was hanging around Mimi in general, Chosen friends around or not. 

He decided that he should go regardless if Yamato was going to be there or not. He shouldn't act selfish over it. Yamato had won. The only thing that Koushirou hated about the entire situation, was the fact that he, himself, didn't even try. He should've told Mimi how he felt about her, even if that wasn't like him to do. 

"Koushirou-han!" 

"Yes Tentomon?" 

"You should answer the e-mail back." 

"Yeah, you're right." 

The boy answered Mimi's e-mail and shut the computer down. He wasn't in the mood to do anymore research. Instead, he decided to sit and do some summer reading. This, of course, put Tentomon back to sleep. He wanted to go out and have fun, not sit around and read. 

The only reason Koushirou did that was to be alone with his thoughts and Tentomon blabbing mostly about nothing wasn't going to help him anyway. 

"If I would have told Mimi-san how I really felt, would I be the one in the place of Yamato-san now?" he asked himself. 

The boy thought of that for the rest of the night and then finally drifted off into a deep slumber, dreaming of what _could_ have been if he hadn't have been so shy and impassive when it came to his feelings for Mimi…   
************************************************************************************************************************************* 

**Comments**

Note 1: Dou itashimashite means, "You're welcome"   
***   
Note 2: _Focus_ is Takeru's 02 vocal theme. Now the thing with this song is that it can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. When I first heard it and saw the lyrics, I thought it was a song for Patamon or either Yamato because he was talking about wanting to protect someone who had once protected him, then with the line, "Is the focus of your heart on me," and the rest of the song pretty much, it sounds like a love song to someone he's known for a while and it sounds like it's definitely to some girl and he just wants an answer from her. Then there's another part of the song where it sounds like he could be talking about himself, about how he's grown up and how he's come a long way from being his eight year old self. 

My interpretation is that it could've been some girl he knew before he moved to Odaiba, I've always thought of it that way, but for this, I'm going to say it's for Hikari since he _did_ know her when he was young. 

The line that Takeru asked to Hikari, which _is_ a line from the actual song means, "Who is the focus of your heart on?" Her response was, "You are the focus of my heart." 

Thanks goes out to riahchan for that one. I was close with the kimi wa boku no kokoro no chuushin, line, but I was still a little off. I'm still learning everyone. ^^ 

If you want the actual translation of the song, just go here: 

  
***   
Note 3: The part of the song that _really_ made me think of Koushirou and Mimi was this part right here: 

**I've got to keep living, even on tearful days**   
**But I can't be strong, I've got to become strong**   
**Time keeps mercilessly chipping away**   
**I restrain my running heart and keep walking**

The reason I think so is because of how this part turned out in reference to Koushirou and Mimi. Both have to do just that, don't ya think? I really wanted something "angsty" for this part and that just came to mind. ^^ 

To be _completely_ honest, though, that part seems to fit Mimi more than Koushirou. This is just my interpretation though. ^^ 

Megchan has the romanization and translation of the song, so if you want the entire thing, just go there to see. 

  



	29. Big Brother Skepticism

Hi, everyone. I'm sorry I took so long to put this part up. This is the next to the official last part. The next part is just a goofy little recaption thing I seem to always do with the Digimon fics I write--well, lately anyway. It's just my attempt at humor. ^^; 

Well, I hope you all aren't _too_ sore at me for taking so long to upload this. School work has been stressing me out a lot lately and taking up a lot of my relaxing free time. I haven't been able to concentrate on this, or any other leisure activity--like reading in general--too much because of the school work. Never mind all of that, though. Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with Digimon. Both Toei and Bandai have those rights.   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 29-2: A Brand New Addition!

More minutes passed and Koushirou seemed to have been wearing a groove into the floor. 

"Koushirou, stop pacing around so much! You're driving _me_ crazy!" Jou shouted at him. "Your mother will be fine!" 

Right at that moment, a person walked up behind Koushirou giggling and said, "Yeah, you should really listen to him. He knows what he is talking about." 

Everyone turned to see... 

"Mimi-oneesama!/Mimi-kun?/Mimi-san?" 

"Hey everyone," the girl smiled. 

"I'm glad you finally made it here." 

"So am I! I wouldn't miss out on this big moment of course!" 

"How did you know that Koushirou was here?" Jou asked. 

"Miyako-chan called and told me." 

"While Izumi-senpai was talking with Hanada-san, I called her on my cell phone." 

"I would have gotten here sooner, but you know how it is with Yamato-san," she laughed uneasily. "He acts as if I'm going to move away whenever we have to part." 

The girl sighed and got off the subject entirely as she caught herself staring at Koushirou. 

"So, how is she doing?" Mimi asked Jou. 

"The doctor says she's fine so far." 

"That's good." 

The girl looked over at Koushirou, once again, who had remained quiet. 

"Hello, Koushirou." 

"Hey," he said quietly, feeling a tad bit uneasy. 

The older boy noticed his two younger friends acting nervous around one another and decided that maybe he and Miyako should leave the two alone to talk. He didn't know why, though. It was just a feeling that he had. 

"Miyako-kun, let's go down to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat, my treat." 

The younger girl shrugged. 

"Okay, senpai," she agreed. She then turned towards Koushirou and Mimi and asked, "Would you two like anything?" 

Both of them shook their heads. 

"Come on." 

She followed behind Jou towards the cafeteria, leaving both Koushirou and Mimi alone. 

"So, how's it going?" she asked, trying to make conversation. 

"Okay, I guess," he shrugged. "I'm just hoping for the best and that my mother does okay." 

"I'm sure she'll do fine," she said in assurance. "So, other than your Computer Club keeping you busy, what else have you been up to? Lately, you haven't been hanging around with me or the others as much." 

He shrugged as he stared out the window of the waiting room. 

"Well, the Computer Club _has_ been keeping me a bit busy lately and I _am_ the President of it," he said with a half smile. "I have a lot of responsibilities now since I am in my last year. I've also been taking practice exams to prepare me for our high school entrance exams this upcoming February." 

"I guess that's good. I've been studying for them too. All of the Kanji we have to learn is driving me crazy! At least the English part of it will be a breeze for me. Sora-san has been helping me prepare for my upcoming entrance exams." She then smiled a bit. "You know, when she isn't busy with Taichi-san. Have you decided on which school you are going to try and get into?" 

"I had a few schools in mind, all known for their hi-tech equipment and computer oriented classes." He looked towards her. "How about you?" 

"I'm going to stick with Odaiba High. They have good sports teams and I hope to excel with my volleyball and my swimming." 

She walked up beside him and stared out of the window as well. The late afternoon was starting to enter the early evening. 

"I was hoping that we would be able to go to High School together." 

"Who knows where I'll actually end up. There's no guarantee I'll end up in either one of those computer schools. Odaiba High was the other school on my list. It _is_ the closest and it _is_ right here in our district. If I went to one of the other schools I had in mind, I would have to move away from here and find a new place to live." 

"You mean like Jou-senpai?" she asked. "Get an apartment by yourself?" 

"Yeah, but I was thinking about doing that anyway." 

"I think it'll be sad if you moved away. Everyone would miss you." 

"Maybe so, but I feel that I should do this. This has been a plan of mine for a while, moving out when I start my first year of High School. My parents have already offered to help me out in any way possible." He then muttered, "That _would_ cost a bit of money if I went to a private school _and_ if they helped to pay for an apartment for me." He then spoke up again. "But still, private school or no private school, I _will_ be moving out this upcoming spring." 

"But _why_ are you going to move out? Why is it so necessary?" 

"Why did you come back to Odaiba?" 

"What does _that_ have to do with your planning to move away?" 

"Quite a bit," he told her. "Now, why did you come back to Odaiba other than your friends being here?" 

"To gain a sense of independence and to show my parents that I can be responsible if I weren't around them all of the time. To prove to them that I'm not just some kid and that I don't need them to baby me all of the time." 

"There, you have your answer. I want to do the same thing, the only difference is that I can't leave the country to do it." 

"I understand..." 

The girl frowned a bit. 

"Don't be to upset, Mimi-san. I have been planning this for a long time now. A while before I graduated from Odaiba Elementary, actually. I felt that the sooner I go out and be on my own, the better." He then laughed a bit. "I don't know if you've noticed or not, but my parents _do_ baby me a bit. I don't think they want me to grow up sometimes." 

She laughed. She knew that this was true, especially with Mrs. Izumi. 

"Any idea _where_ you will be moving?" 

"It all depends on which school I decide to try and get into or which school actually accepts me. I am studying like crazy. I am sure that I can pass the entrance exam for any school I try for!" 

She smiled and was glad that Koushirou had so much confidence in himself, but she was still going to miss him, never the less. 

"I wish Odaiba High was it. It'll be strange going to school and your not being there since I've gotten so used of hanging around you." 

"Yeah, and your not being around would be a bit awkward for me too. But you can always visit me wherever I _do_ decide to move to. You _all_ can." 

"Yeah, I guess so." 

Koushirou turned away from Mimi and went back to looking out of the window. 

"Hey, why don't you have lunch with me in school Monday? We can get a study date set up for our entrance exams. You could help me study so I won't have to always bother Sora-san or Yamato-san." 

Koushirou turned towards Mimi and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He felt a bit nervous, but he didn't understand why he would have been. This was Mimi, his friend. "Why get nervous around her?" He put his thoughts aside and answered Mimi's question. 

"I wouldn't want to disturb you or Yamato-san if I just showed up at the lunch table with you two." 

She laughed a bit. 

"Don't worry about him. My friends are always welcome to join us; especially good ones." 

He smiled back at her and shook off one of his urges. He really wanted to kiss her like he had before, but he mentally punched himself for that. He felt that he wasn't supposed to think in such a fashion. Oddly enough, Mimi wanted to kiss him too but she kept herself under control. She _was_ a lady afterall and young ladies aren't supposed to act in such a manner. Her mother was big on the etiquette thing and acting lady-like was very important to her and expected Mimi to act in the same way. 

"I'm glad that you decided to come by." 

"So am I." 

"I apologize for ruining your outing with Yamato-san. You really _didn't_ have to come." 

"You didn't ruin it! He had other things to do anyway. He forgot that he had a band practice! That's his loss, but he did say good luck with your mother." 

"Oh." 

She smiled at Koushirou. 

"Don't ever think that you are a nuisance or a bother to me because you aren't and you never _will_ be!" 

He nodded and stared at Mimi like he had before when they were at the Festival. Mimi was doing the same thing. The two were inching closer to one another about to kiss, instincts taking over, until the two were unexpectedly interrupted. 

"Mr. Izumi?" a person called. "Is there a Mr. Izumi here?" 

"What! What! What!" Koushirou shouted out nervously. "I wasn't about to do anything, Yamato-san!" He then bowed to Mimi. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! (I am very sorry! I am very sorry!)" 

The boy blushed furiously and kept apologizing for some reason. He realized what was about to happen between him and Mimi, another kiss. She already had somebody, it was wrong of him to try and kiss her, but he _just_ couldn't help himself. Mimi didn't say anything. She looked a bit disappointed that he didn't kiss her. The two then heard someone calling for a "Mr. Izumi," once again, and Koushirou nervously shouted out. 

"Um, right here, I'm Mr. Izumi!" 

A nurse walked up to Koushirou. 

"Good, I found you," the nurse then smiled at Koushirou, "but my name isn't Yamato." 

"Right..." 

"Your mother has had the baby, about 20 minutes ago actually, so you can go in to see her now," the nurse informed him. 

"_Really_!?!" 

She nodded. 

"That's wonderful! What did she have!" 

The boy shook his head. 

"Never mind what she had! Is she healthy! Is she okay!?!" 

"Calm down, Koushirou-kun," Mimi laughed, due to how cute Koushirou was acting. "Let the nurse talk." 

"The delivery was a success and she had a healthy baby---" 

"Great, lead the way!" Koushirou interupted. 

The woman smiled at his hyperness and decided to take the boy to see his mother. 

Before the nurse could lead Koushirou to his mother's room, Miyako and Jou ran back up. Miyako was complaining about how bad the hospital food was and Jou was trying his best to calm her down. 

"These muffins are as hard as a rock, the Macaroni & Cheese looks like it was cooked in yellow paste, and what kind of a hospital serves Jello that requires one to have teeth just to eat it!" she complained. "Jello is supposed to be soft, not hard and gravelly, like dried over cement!" 

"Miyako-kun, _please_ calm down!" Jou sweat dropped. 

"Hmmph, it's true!" she said, crossing her arms in annoyance. 

"How about after we leave here, I take you someplace to get a _real_ meal to make up for the one you didn't get in the cafeteria." 

"Where will you take me?" 

"Any place that you would like." 

"_No_ fast food places!" 

The boy sighed and realized that he probably made a big mistake. He figured that Miyako was _definitely_ going to take advantage of this situation. 

"Okay, no cheap fast food places," he finally agreed. 

"It's a deal!" Miyako smiled. 

The older boy sighed out in relief. He was glad that Miyako had finally stopped complaining and making a scene. 

"Hey, where are Izumi-senpai and Mimi-oneesama going?" 

Jou shrugged and he and Miyako ran up to Mimi and Koushirou. 

"Great, you're here!" Mimi said. "Mrs. Izumi has had the baby and we are going to see her now!" 

"Sugoi, I can't wait to see it!" Miyako exclaimed. 

"C'mon, everyone! Let's go see my mother!" 

The nurse led the four to a room. When they entered the room, they saw Mr. Izumi smiling and looking at his brand new child, whom Mrs. Izumi was holding. Ms. Hanada was there too, right by Mrs. Izumi's side, shedding tears. She was quite the emotional type. When the four entered the room, Mrs. Izumi called out to them. 

"Hello everyone!" 

"Mom, are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you being fed okay? Are you healthy? Is the baby healthy? Did the doctor---" 

The glasses-wearing boy put a hand over Koushirou's mouth, muffling out his questions. 

"He has been a nervous wreck since you have been in here, Izumi-san," Jou apologized. "Please forgive him." 

The woman smiled. 

"I don't mind. It's nice to see you all." 

"Can I see the baby!" Miyako asked, rushing over to the bed. "I want to see the baby!" 

"Me too, me too!" Mimi said, joining Miyako. "I want to hold the baby!" 

The two girls saw the baby and their eyes instantly glowed in a sparkly fashion. 

"Kawaii!! (Pretty/Cute!!)" the two exclaimed. 

"Such a pretty child, but Yoshie-san, Masami-san, you need to come up with a name for her," Ms. Hanada told them. 

Mr. Izumi nodded in agreement. 

"Yoshie, we never _did_ decide on one." 

Everyone in the room started to give suggestions on names, minus Koushirou. He was still a bit nervous over the entire situation. Mrs. Izumi noticed this and called him over, which silenced everyone else. 

"Koushirou, dear..." 

The boy jerked his head up at the mentioning of his name. 

"Hai, okaasan? (Yes, mother?)" 

"Don't you want to see your new baby sister?" 

He nervously nodded and walked towards her. 

"You should try holding her," Mr. Izumi told him. 

Mr. Izumi stood up and let Koushirou take his seat. Right now, Miyako was holding the sleeping infant. She didn't want to put the child down. Mimi was the same way pretty much and wanted to hold the baby longer before reluctantly handing her over to Miyako. 

"I think we should let Koushirou hold her now," Mrs. Izumi smiled. 

"Um, I don't think that's such a good idea," Koushirou protested. "What if I break her or something?" 

"Don't be silly," Ms. Hanada told him. "You'll be fine." 

Miyako handed the baby to Koushirou who nervously accepted it. 

"Wow, she's so small." 

Mimi helped Koushirou out by showing him how to hold the baby correctly. 

"You have to hold her gently but you can't hold her loosely either or you'll drop her," she told him. 

He nodded and did as she said. When Koushirou held the baby in the correct fashion, Mimi couldn't help but smile at him. She thought he looked cute at that particular moment. She always found him cute when he seemed nervous about something. 

"You're going to make one good brother to your new sister, Koushirou." 

"I'll _try_ to be a good brother," he told his mother. He chuckled a bit. "Surprisingly, I've been preparing for this exact moment and I didn't even realize it." 

"We still haven't decided on a name," Mr. Izumi said. 

"That's right," Mrs. Izumi responded. 

"Hmm, how about the name Atsuko?" Mr. Izumi suggested. 

"Atsuko?" She shook her head. "No, I don't like that too much. How about Kasumi?" 

Mr. Izumi shook his head at his wife's choice of a name. 

"Nah, too common. How about Aya?" 

"That's a nice name," Ms. Hanada complimented. 

"I'm not all that fond of the name," Mrs. Izumi said. "It _is_ nice, but I'm sure we can come up with something better. What do you think Sui-san?" 

"Um, why not...um...Hitomi?" 

"That's even more common than the name Kasumi," Mr. Izumi laughed. 

Both Ms. Hanada and Mr. Izumi kept discussing names while Mrs. Izumi looked at Koushirou. The baby had awakened and looked up and Koushirou, smiling. She thought it was surprising that the baby didn't cry and was _really_ surprised that the baby seemed to be smiling. Koushirou was smiling back and talking to the baby. Jou, Mimi, and Miyako smiled at their friend. They were glad that he had finally calmed down and seemed more comfortable around the baby. 

"Hi there. I'm your new brother. You can call me oniisan or whatever it is you would call me. I'm new at this older brother stuff and I'm learning as I go along so if I do something _completely_ stupid, I didn't mean to." 

Right at that moment, the nurse and the doctor entered the room. 

"How are you feeling Mrs. Izumi?" the doctor asked. 

The woman sat up in her bed a bit more and smiled. 

"I'm doing okay." 

"We have to get a name for the child now, Izumi-san," the nurse said while writing up a paper. "Have you two decided on one yet?" 

"I'm afraid not," Mr. Izumi admitted. 

"Well, you have to come up with something so that we can finish writing up the Birth Certificate," the doctor told them. 

"I like the name Aya," Mr. Izumi said. 

"I think the name Hitomi is nice," Ms. Hanada said. 

"Why not Ai!" Mimi suggested. "That's a pretty name and it symbolizes love!" 

"Hmm, I think the name Rio is nice," Miyako chimed in. 

Jou scratched his head and said, "Atarashii Taiyou..." 

"New sun?" Mimi asked. 

"What kind of a name is that?" Miyako asked. 

"Oh, sorry," the boy laughed nervously. "I was just thinking of that song Taichi sang a while back. That song is quite catchy."   
****   
Tentomon: No it's not! That's not why the song title was thrown in there just now! 

Gomamon: Okay, why was it throw in then? 

Gabumon: (Sarcastic tone) Yes oh honorable knowledgable one... 

The insect type Digi ignored Gabumon's obvious sarcasm and answered. 

Tentomon: RP-han is just listening to the song, which she really likes, and typed in _Atarashii Taiyou_ by mistake, which _is_ the song title of the 02 theme of Taichi-han. 

Agumon: Ooh! Do you think she could get _Agumon Ondo_ in there someplace? 

Gomamon: What about _Muteki na Bataashi_, my song! 

Gabumon: _Daijoubu_, my song, has a catchier tune than _your_ two songs! 

Tentomon: Oh brother. -_-   
****   
"Um, how about the name Umi?" Jou suggested. 

Yoshie sat there, considering all of the suggestions. She then smiled and looked over towards Koushirou who was still holding the baby. 

"Why not let Koushirou choose?" she said. 

"_Kou_shirou?" everyone asked in surprise. 

"_Me_?!?" 

"Yes, I really feel that you should choose the name." She then turned to her husband. "Whatever he chooses, we go along with it." 

Mr. Izumi nodded in agreement. The woman then turned back towards her son. 

"Is that okay with you, Koushirou?" 

The boy nodded nervously. 

"I suppose so..." 

"So, what will the name be?" the nurse asked. 

The boy sat there, thinking. He didn't know anything about naming children. He barely knew how to associate with them. He was still in the "learning stage" in that sense. 

"What do I name you? The name has to have some kind of a meaning," he said, deep in thought. 

He then looked down at the baby and still spoke to himself. 

"You look like a thinker and I bet you'll be very smart when you get older." Koushirou looked around at everyone and stared at Ms. Hanada. "I know she is really enjoying this. I bet she is going to tell you stories about my biological mother and her love for Chess like she does with Kimiko-kun. She's actually trying to teach her how to play." 

Koushirou looked back down at the nameless baby. 

"I wonder if you'll be a good Chess player since I know for a fact that Sui-obasan will teach you how to play," he said out aloud. 

Ms. Hanada smiled at that. She loved the idea of teaching children how to play Chess. 

"I bet you will be," he said in assurance. "I know you will grow up to be a smart, responsible person." He then said slowly to himself, "Just...like...my...mother..." 

The boy looked up. 

"Miki!" he said. He looked over at his parents and asked, "Can we name her Miki please?" 

"Miki?" Mr. Izumi asked. 

"Miki is a wonderful name," Mrs. Izumi said with a nod and a smile. "I like it a lot." 

"I do too," Mr. Izumi agreed. 

"So, Izumi Miki is the name you choose for her?" the nurse asked. 

Mr. & Mrs. Izumi nodded. 

"Okay, got it," the nurse said as she wrote down the information. 

After the Nurse got the information, she and the doctor left. 

The baby was now sleeping and Koushirou was still holding her. 

"Hi there, Miki. I am Koushirou. I hope you're okay with the name I chose for you. He then whispered to her, "It's a very important name to me." 

The boy stood up and handed the baby back to his mother. 

"It means so much to me that you are here, Koushirou, and I am glad that you named her," she smiled proudly at him. "I'm sure that both your mother and father are very proud of you right now." 

Mr. Izumi put a hand down on Koushirou's shoulder and proudly said, "Good job, son." 

Koushirou smiled nervously and nodded. 

"Well, I better get going," he said. "I should let you rest up." 

"We all should probably go," Jou said. "I'm sure we're over the limit." 

"Over the limit?" Miyako asked. 

"I'm sure that Mrs. Izumi has too many visitors at one time," Jou explained. 

"Oh." She then turned to both Mr. & Mrs. Izumi and said, "Congratulations." 

The two thanked the kids and they all walked out. Ms. Hanada left along with them. 

"Hanada-san, why did you leave?" Mimi asked. 

"This is more of a family moment," she told her. "Besides, I should really go home and see how Kimiko is doing with the other children she was hanging out with today." 

"What are the children doing?" Jou asked. 

"Kodomo-tachi wa kooen de asonde imasu. (The children are having fun on the playground)." 

"Cool." 

"Well, I'm out of here. I will see you all later." 

Before the woman left, she turned to Koushirou and smiled proudly. 

"You did a good job today. You and Miyako-kun. You ought to be proud that you got Yoshie-san here in time." 

"So am I," Koushirou sighed out in relief. 

"I'm also sure that Miki-chan and Hiroaki-san would be very proud of you. That was sweet of you to name your new sister Miki." 

Koushirou smiled a bit. He was glad that he had done so also. With that, Ms. Hanada left. 

"I'm glad that's over with," Jou said. "I was starting to worry about Koushirou there." 

"You weren't the only one," Miyako said in agreement. She then gave Jou a smile and said, "I hope he doesn't actthat bad when I have _my_ first child." 

The boy looked over at Miyako who laughed a bit. She only spoke loud enough so that he could hear her. No one else heard what she had said. 

"Hey, Jou!" 

Jou turned to see a tall boy with long, dark hair. 

"Yo, Eijiro," Jou greeted back. "What are you still doing here?" 

"I never left. Me and a couple of the others were helping out the nurses for extra credit. Our instructor set it up." He then frowned a bit. "There wasn't much for us to do--especially since they were all male nurses, that evil instructor--so we're all leaving. We were on our way out until I saw you over here. Want to come hang out with us?" 

Eijiro then gave Jou a nudge and a sly smirk. 

"We're going to meet up with Malissa and the other girls that were in her group." He then laughed. "It'll make up for us having to work with male nurses." 

Jou blushed nervously. 

"Malissa, huh? She's very nice." 

"Um, sorry for interrupting, but what about my dinner!" 

"You know what, I think I _will_ take you up on that offer!" Jou told his friend. 

The boy started to run off with Miyako running behind him, who ended up tripping in the process. He didn't let that keep him down, though, he talk got right back up and resumed running away from the younger girl. 

"You owe me a dinner, senpai! You promised and you have the Crest Trait of Sincerity too! You're supposed to live up to your promises!" 

"Now this is a funny scene," Eijiro laughed. "Another girl after Jou and he just doesn't seem to notice it." 

Mimi laughed too. When she was younger, she acted the same way around Jou, but she was never romantically interested him. She was slightly attracted to him when they were stuck together in the Digital World, but that was about it. 

"Hi there," Eijirou smiled, noticing Mimi. 

"Hello, Eijiro-san," she greeted back. 

"Why not join us for the evening," he pretty much flirted. 

The girl looked over at Koushirou who was just standing there. 

"No thanks. You have Miyako-chan. I'll hang around here for a while, but thanks for the offer." 

He nodded and said, "okay," and took off after Jou and Miyako. He was better at taking hints now; besides, he knew about her and Yamato dating. His sisters were crying when they found out since they were such "Rabid Yama Fans" and thought it was "unfair." He just shook his head at his younger sisters and always wondered why he was cursed with having so many of them. He would personally trade all four of his sisters for his cousin, Eiji, any day of the week. 

As for Yuko, Ayame, and Chinatsu, they were all pretty much shocked when they found out that Mimi had started dating Yamato. They never really said anything, but even _they_ thought that Mimi would have ended up getting with Koushirou eventually, especially since Mimi finally told them why she was upset on the day of Sora's party. Whenever they would ask Mimi, what drew her to Yamato, she would pretty much only say, "He's nice." Yuko was slightly jealous of Mimi since she had gotten with the hottest boy in "all of Odaiba," but she didn't hold it against her. 

Not only were the girls heartbroken over the hottest new couple, but the guys were as well. Mimi's main admirers were happy that she didn't end up with Izumi, but flat out gave up--some of them--when they found out she had accepted Yamato and dated him. Every guy was jealous of Yamato for having the honor of dating such a great girl. 

"So, what are you going to do now?" 

Koushirou shrugged. He didn't know what he wanted to do. All he knew was that he was going to be home by himself that night. His father said a while ago that when Mrs. Izumi went to the hospital that he would stay by her side no matter what and that he would stay in the hospital with her if she ever had to stay overnight. 

"Let's go out someplace, just the two of us, to celebrate the birth of your new sister!" 

Koushirou gave her a look, wondering what she had in mind. 

"If-if you insist, but what could we do?" he asked nervously. 

The girl stood there and decided to scheme a bit. She wanted Koushirou to offer to take _her_ someplace. She wanted _him_ to pick. 

"I really don't know," the girl said. "What do _you_ want to do?" she asked innocently. "It doesn't matter, your choice." 

"Ima nan-ji desu ka? (What time is it now?)" 

"A little after 5:00." 

The boy "hmmed" and thought for a moment. His subconscious was pretty much taking over and his subconscious--not to mention romanced crazed and brave side--wanted to ask Mimi out. The same went for Mimi, her subconscious wanted Koushirou to ask her out and her subconscious self was _definitely_ going to accept the offer if he did. She smiled at the thought. Ever since she had gotten to the hospital, she hadn't been herself. 

"Ano...Mimi-san... (Um...Mimi...)" 

"Hai?" 

He got a nervous blush and asked, "Konya eega ni ikimasen ka? (How about we go out to the movies tonight?)" 

The girl was surprised that Koushirou actually had the guts to actually ask, yet she was happy. 

"Of course!" she pretty much cheered. "I'd love to and I don't care what's playing either! Let's just get going!" 

"Su-sure." 

The girl grabbed Koushirou's arm and linked hers with his. It was like she couldn't control herself right then and there. She was too hung up over Koushirou to even care. Koushirou _did_ stop her, though. He had to inform his parents on what he was planning. 

Just as Koushirou had expected, his father was planning on staying overnight with Mrs. Izumi and that Koushirou was going to have the place to himself. He was okay with that. 

After he finished with his father, he went back to a waiting Mimi. The two ended up leaving and both went out to the movies. Nothing happened in the "romantic sense," but the two _did_ look as if they were on a real date.   
****   
Miyako got tired of chasing Jou, and grew tired of Eijiro's accussing her of liking Jou. Due to all of that, she decided to head on home. She called the Izumi home, but didn't get an answer, which didn't surprise her. She then called Mimi and found out that she hadn't gotten home either and that she was out with a friend, according to her uncle. She didn't think _too_ much of it. 

"Mimi-chan goes with Yamato-san now. She wouldn't be out with Izumi-senpai, would she?" she asked herself. 

She knew that Yamato was still practicing with his band, due to the time. She was now wondering who Mimi was hanging out with, but decided to dismiss it. She knew that Mimi wouldn't _try_ anything with Koushirou if she had Yamato...she hoped. 

Miyako decided to call Hikari to see how she was doing and to tell her about Mrs. Izumi's baby. 

Hikari had been dating Takeru just as long as Yamato had Mimi. Takeru and Hikari had been a bit quiet over their dating one another, in the very beginning, but they were open with it now-a-days. Everyone was okay with Takeru getting together with Hikari, even though Taichi was quite skeptical over it. He knew that Takeru was a nice boy and that he wouldn't hurt her in any way, but he still had a difficult time accepting the fact that his baby sister was dating in general. She was still his sister that needed him to watch over her to him. 

The only person that was a bit upset over the two dating was Daisuke. He still liked Hikari a lot, even though he had calmed down with his obvious crush on her, tremendously. He was a bit jealous of Takeru since he _had_ gotten with Hikari but shrugged it off when anyone asked him he felt about it. There wasn't much he could do to get her to like him the way that he liked her. He wasn't mad nor was he sore at Takeru and still saw him as a friend and that was important to him. 

"Hey, Hikari-chan!" 

"Hey, Miyako-san. What's up?" 

The older glasses-wearing girl started to tell Hikari about her day with Jou and Koushirou at the hospital, causing Hikari to laugh at every detail...   
****   
Later on that evening... 

"That was a fun movie to watch!" Mimi said in a cheerful manner. 

"Yeah, it was. It wasn't Sci Fi, but it was okay." 

"I know, I know, you're the Sci Fi fanatic," Mimi said. "I hope you didn't mind watching a romantic comedy." 

"I didn't mind going to see the movie. It was quite amusing," he said. "I'm glad you invited me along." 

"I didn't invite anyone," Mimi said, getting a mischievous grin. "_You_ did." 

"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?" he asked, putting his hand behind his head bashfully. 

She smiled and nodded as they continued their walk home. They were coming up to Koushirou's place since it was closer to the movie theatre. 

"So, what do you want to do now to end our...evening?" she asked. 

"Probably go on home. There isn't much more_ to_ do. I would also like to check up on my mother to see if she's doing okay." 

"Are you planning on calling her?" 

"Yeah, when I get home. If you would like, I could walk you home since it _is_ getting a bit late." 

"Since we're already at your place, we might as well hang out here for a while." 

"Okay." 

The boy invited Mimi into his home. 

"Have a seat. Would you like anything to drink or eat?" 

"No thanks." 

She patted the seat beside her. 

"Why don't we talk for a while," she smiled. 

"Sure." 

He took the seat beside Mimi nervously. 

"So, what do you want to talk about?" 

"How about us?" 

"_Us_?" 

She nodded. 

"For the past few weeks, we haven't talked as much and this time is the perfect opportunity to." 

"Yeah, I guess, but what's there to talk about?" 

"Well, I think we should spend some more time together," she blushed slightly. 

"You do!?!" 

"Yeah, we rarely do anymore." 

"But what about Yamato-san?" 

"What _about_ him? We are friends and friends should hang out together." 

The girl then blushed a bit more. 

"Besides, I like to spend time with you." 

Koushirou laughed in surprise. 

"I always felt that I bored you." 

"That's silly. You don't bore me." 

"Surprising..." 

"I was just wanted to get everything set up." 

"Set what up?" 

"Our study date, of course. I was serious. I want to study with you. You can help me with all that boring stuff, and I can help you improve your English a bit more." 

"Um, okay. If you insist." 

"Of course!" the girl said with a smile. "Now, let us get everything set up, like when we will study and all of that other important stuff." 

"Okay." 

The two started to plan out when they could study together to help prepare for their upcoming entrance exams. They were right around the corner. 

After they finished planning that out, Koushirou left Mimi to call the hospital to see how everything was going with his parents. He got through and his father answered. He pretty much asked how Koushirou enjoyed his movie, while Mrs. Izumi took the phone from him, asking how he was doing and if he could handle being by himself an entire night. Koushirou shook his head at the way the two were acting. They were doing exactly what he wanted to get away from, their babying him every chance that they got. 

After Koushirou assured them that he would be okay by himself, Mrs. Izumi insisted that Koushirou have someone stay with him because she didn't like the idea of him being at home alone. Koushirou, once again, assured her that he would be okay. 

While Koushirou was on the phone, Mimi was on her cell, calling up her family to let her know where she was. She also mentioned this time that Mrs. Izumi had had her baby. 

"Mimi-san," Koushirou called after he had gotten off the phone with his folks. 

"Oh, hey again," she asked nervously, not knowing why exactly. "So, what's up?" 

"The usual, pretty much." 

"The usual?" 

He nodded. 

"My parents acting over protective. Even when they're not around, they baby me. They insisted that I have someone stay the night. Pretty silly, aren't they?" 

He decided to get off of the topic and get Mimi home. 

"Well, it's getting a bit late. Would you like for me to walk you home?" 

"I'm not so sure," she said, getting an "I have an idea," smile. 

"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Why not let _me_ stay the night!" 

"NANI!?!" the boy asked, nearly having a heart attack. 

"Izumi-san said that she wanted someone to stay with you, so why not have me stay overnight since I am already here." 

"Um, I'm not so sure that is a good idea," Koushirou responded, still surprised at what she had suggested. 

"Why not?" 

He wasn't sure how he would react around Mimi if she stayed the night and was pretty scared of accidentally embarassing himself in front of her. It wasn't like they were children stuck in the Digital World together anymore where he never really had such adult-like thoughts. He also wasn't sure where things would have _led_ if she stayed over there. If it was easy for them to almost kiss one another, who knows what else could happen without anyone around to interrupt things, even though he, himself, wouldn't allow himself to. 

"Um, what about your aunt and uncle. I am sure they would disapprove of such an arrangement." 

"No they wouldn't. They like you and the Izumis. Besides, they trust me and this is the perfect test for me to show my true independence!" 

All Koushirou could do was shrug. He didn't want to argue with the girl. 

"So, can I stay over?" 

"I...guess...so," he said slowly. 

"Great! Let me call my aunt back and let her know that I plan on staying here with one of my best buddies! We can catch up a lot this way!" 

"Um, yeah," he said uneasily. 

The girl took out her cell phone and called her folks back. She explained how she wanted to stay over at the Izumis for the night. Her uncle was the one to answer the phone and he said, in a stern manner, "No!" She tried to reason with her uncle into letting her stay, but he still refused to let her and her aunt agreed with him. Mimi sighed and acted "adult" about it and decided to go along with them on their decision. Mimi didn't even bother asking why they wouldn't let her, since she felt that it wouldn't help her case out any. 

Her companion noticed the look on her face and figured that they dissapproved, just like he had assumed they would. No matter how much they may like a guy, no normal parent or guardian would let their pretty teen-aged daughter--or in the Nishimuras' case, niece--spend the entire night, unsupervised, with a teen-aged boy with raging hormones. 

"They're being stubborn!" 

"That's okay, Mimi-san," Koushirou smiled in relief. "Maybe some other time." 

"Yeah, I guess so." 

"I should probably walk you home now." 

"Yeah, okay." 

The girl headed towards the door, a bit dissapointed. Koushirou walked behind her, relieved over the fact that she _wasn't_ staying. He didn't want either one of them to end up doing something that each would regret. The two exited the apartment and headed towards the Nishimura home in silence, pretty much. 

"Here you are, home safe and sound." 

"Yeah, here I am," she muttered, still a bit cross over her aunt and uncle's decision. 

"Thank you for visiting my mother in the hospital. I am sure she really appreciated it." 

"No problem," Mimi said with a forced smile. "I was glad to come by." 

"So, I guess I will see you in school Monday." 

"Yeah and you shall join me for lunch." 

He smiled timidly. 

"Yep, I suppose so, but if Yamato-san doesn't want anyone else around, I will leave." 

"Don't worry about him. If he was sick of all of our friends," she laughed, "he would have kicked Yuko-chan, Ayame-chan, and Chinatsu-chan away a long time ago." 

"I suppose that's true." 

"You're more of a friend to him than they are." 

"That is true also." 

She smiled at him. 

"Stop worrying. I don't know why you of all people would fear hanging around Yamato-san." 

He shrugged, about to say something, but the front door was opened and startled by that of a tall man. "Welcome home," the man told the two. 

"Hi there, Uncle." 

"You better get in the house now," he told her. "It's getting a bit late." 

"Yes sir." 

She turned to Koushirou and gave him a smile, one he always loved. 

"I'll talk with you later, Koushirou-kun. I can't wait until your mom gets home with the baby!" 

"Yeah, I'll see you later too, Mimi-san. Good night, Nishimura-san." 

The two waved to Koushirou as he walked off, his hands in his pockets. As he walked away, he stared up at the sky and chuckled to himself lightly. He then said to himself, "I guess that means Mimi-san is still with Yamato-san, no matter how much I am against it." 

He stared back at the Nishimura house and sighed. 

"Oh well, that's fate for you," he muttered out aloud. 

He then smiled a bit, forcefully. 

"If this is what Mimi-san wants, then this is what she deserves. If she is truly happy, I shouldn't interfere, and when she is happy, I'm happy...I suppose." 

He looked up at the window of Mimi's room. 

"Oyasumi, Mimi-san," he thought. "I wish you the best of luck with Yamato-san and will have to accept the fact that I have officially lost you, even though I never officially had you. I just wish I wasn't so shy to tell you how much I really liked you." 

He then turned and headed home... 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A couple of days later, both Mr. & Mrs. Izumi returned home along with the new addition to their family. When Koushirou returned home from school, he found them there. 

"You're back!" 

"Yep, we sure are," Mrs. Izumi said. "How did you manage all by yourself?" 

"It was okay, but how are you feeling? Do you need to rest? Do you need to lie down?" 

"She is fine, Koushirou," Mr. Izumi laughed. "Stop worrying." 

Mrs. Izumi was sitting on the couch holding the baby when Koushirou walked in. Koushirou walked over towards his mother and looked down at the baby. 

"She's still so tiny," stated. 

"She's going to be like this for a good while, so you better get used to her," Mrs. Izumi smiled. 

"Would you like to hold her?" his father asked. 

"Yes, I really could use the practice since I am now officially her brother." 

The boy sat down next to his mother, who handed the infant to Koushirou. He remembered what Mimi and Miyako had told him about how to hold babies so he didn't need any help this time. The baby was awake this time and smiled when she saw Koushirou holding her. 

"Miki must really like you," Mrs. Izumi said, noticing the smiles she would give him. "She keeps smiling every time you are around. That's kind of odd for a child _that_ young." 

"I guess he must be special to her in some way," Mr. Izumi said. 

"Or maybe she knows something special about Koushirou that we don't." 

Both Mr. & Mrs. Izumi smiled as they all huddled around Koushirou, admiring the new addition to their family, living happily ever after... 


	30. A Brand New Addition!

Hey, everyone, how do you love my "_great_" grammar skills? Am I not wonderful and truly talented in the English grammar department? 

::Everyone nods:: 

Well, I don't deserve any of it! 

::Everyone facefaults:: 

I have my own personal editor and he's a heck of a lot better at locating mistakes than _I_ am. My good online buddy, David! ^_^ He deserves all of the credit. The parts that have all of the grammar errors are the ones that he didn't see before I uploaded, like this part. ^^ 

Well, for this part we have an old character return that hasn't been mentioned in a _good_ while now. I almost forgot about her too until I read over the reviews. Normally, when I read over your reviews it helps to give me ideas and to help get rid of writer blocks. ^_^ 

Well, let me quit dragging this on. Enjoy everyone and we all must remember, "I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON."   
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Part 29-1: Big Brother Skepticism...

It was nearly four months later since we last saw Koushirou starting off his summer break and the now 15-year-old Koushirou was waiting anxiously for news about his mother who had gone into labor. Along with him was his 14-year-old friend, Miyako. 

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," the boy kept muttering as he paced back and forth. 

"Calm down, Izumi-senpai. Your mother will be fine." 

"I can't take the pressure!" the boy shouted. 

"_Obviously_," she muttered. 

Koushirou grew tired of pacing and took a seat beside Miyako. 

"Gomen," he apologized with a sigh. "I'm just not used of this." He then looked over at his younger friend and asked, "What if she gets hurt or something?" 

"She'll be fine," Miyako assured him. "All of those painkillers should do the trick." 

"But that's not too wise a thing to do," the two heard a voice say. 

"_Jou_-san/_Jou_-senpai!" 

"What are _you_ doing here and what do _you_ know about _not_ using painkillers during childbirth," Miyako asked as she crossed her arms. "A boy _would_ say something like that." 

The now 17-year-old boy shook his head at the girl and defended himself, well tried to anyway... 

"I'm just going by what I have heard about medications and chlidbirth." He then sighed a bit and muttered, "Unfortunately, my Biology class is studying female anatomy. Eijiro left to goof off for the rest of the day, probably. I was just on my way out until I saw you two sitting here." 

"You have to witness the birth of a baby?" Miyako asked in surprise. 

The boy waved his hands around and shook his head. 

"_No_ way! That was the idea, but our instructor decided not to put us through the agony of witnessing it! Instead, he let us look at the newborn babies through that window." 

The girl gave Jou a look. 

"How is _that_ agonizing!?!" 

"It's not!" the boy said in defense. "I just don't think _I_ could handle seeing something like that, that's all, and our instructor must think so as well since _he_ cancelled it!" 

"_You're_ the one trying to become a doctor!" 

"Not _that_ kind!" 

The glasses-wearing girl shook her head at Jou and tittered a bit. 

"All of you guys are the same." 

The glasses-wearing boy gave Miyako a look. 

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?!?" 

"You guys can help to make them, but you can't witness their birthing and what the mother goes through!" 

"Hey, you are just a child! You shouldn't know about such things!" 

"I am 14 years old and I can assure you that I am _no_ child!" 

The girl then gave Jou a sly look. She loved toying with him since it was so easy to do; _especially_ if it dealt with anything personal or sex oriented. 

"I could have children myself if I chose to. I _am_ old enough, you know." The girl then looked over at Koushirou and smiled slyly. "Izumi-senpai would know that better than anyone." 

Jou looked at Miyako and then looked over at Koushirou and then shook his head. He didn't want to even _think_ of such a thing. The idea of his younger buddies in an intimate fashion or situation _highly_ disturbed him. Koushirou was too wrapped up in what was going on dealing with his mother to even listen to what she or Jou were saying. 

Miyako laughed at Jou's expression. She was thinking of the time when Koushirou went to the orphanage and the lady there thought that Koushirou had fathered a child. Mimi had told her and Sora all about it. Both found the situation amusing and wished that they could have seen the look Koushirou had when Mrs. Mitsuishi assumed that, especially since Mimi told them that his look was priceless. 

"Calm down, senpai. I was only kidding around." 

"I should hope so!" Jou said in an adult-like manner. "Children shouldn't be joking about such things." 

"Must we go through this again?" Miyako asked with a sigh. "I am _not_ a child! I am a young, highly-motivated independent woman of the 21st century who could start my own family if I chose to, and furthermore---" 

"Gomen, gomen!" Jou said as he waved his hands around in an apologetic fashion. "My fault, you are a '_young_ woman.'" 

"Bingo!" she said while winking at him and giving him the Victory sign. "Now remember that." 

Koushirou, who had been quiet the entire time, turned towards both Miyako and Jou. 

"Will you two quiet down please! My _mother_ is in there, you know!" 

"Your mother?" Jou asked. 

"Izumi-san went into labor while Izumi-senpai and me were working on a new program to present to the Computer Club this Monday. We were in his room when we heard some dishes break. We went to see what the problem was and we saw Izumi-san holding her stomach. The strange thing is that she was having contractions the entire time; yet, she didn't even know it, until she said her water broke. She felt that it was too soon to be having them and didn't think anything of it, until the contractions got closer and closer together and the pains became too much for her to bear and of course her water breaking and all. That's when we heard the dishes she dropped, break." 

"I hope she does okay." 

"For _his_ sake, I hope so too," Miyako laughed. 

She pointed towards Koushirou who was still pacing around like a madman. 

"You sure are calm about this," Jou noted. 

"Maybe because this is normal. You guys are more worried than Izumi-san is and _she's_ the one having the baby!" 

"I hope no complications occur," Koushirou muttered. 

"Stop worrying, Izumi-senpai. Everything will be fine." 

The boy started to pace back and forth once again. He was worried and nothing was going to change that. 

"What if the same fate that occurred with her first child, who would be about two years older than myself, was to happen again?" Koushirou thought in worry. "What if he or she was to get sick during the actual birthing procedure instead of shortly after like before?" 

Right now, he wanted some better reassurring. He also wished that Mimi could have been around, but he knew that she was currently out with Yamato. He appreciated Miyako's company--even though he couldn't tell that ever since Mimi and Yamato got together that she flirted with him nonstop--but he still liked hanging around with Mimi as well. She had an afterschool date with Yamato and he didn't want to bother her any. He respected her in that sense. He still felt that her hanging around with Yamato as his "official girlfriend" was a bad idea and forced on her part. 

He could tell that Mimi didn't like Yamato the way he did her and they had been together for a few months now. He could tell that Mimi was only dating Yamato, probably, to keep other guys from bothering her and to humor Yamato since he _did_ show such an interest in her and didn't act "fan-crazed" about it. He figured that she didn't want him to feel bad since he went out of his way to get with her to begin with; something he, himself, didn't. 

He still cursed himself for not telling Mimi about how he felt about her to this day, somewhat. He wanted to tell her these things, but he could never bring himself to put himself in such a situation. It just wasn't like him to act all lubby dubby or hung up over a person. 

One thing he still didn't understand was why she never gave him a chance. The two shared a passionate kiss, afterall. Seemed that something would have come from that, but unfortunately, it didn't. Koushirou understood romance a bit better now and he could tell that Mimi liked him the same way that he liked her just from the few things she would do around him. He might not be an expert in the "romance" field, but he was still quite analytical and observational. 

For one, she still hanged out with him as much as she possibly could, when Yamato wasn't involved, and the way Yamato acted around her, was the exact same way that she would act around Koushirou. 

As a matter of fact, when she invited him to go to the beach a few months back, he was the only she had invited. He thought it was for the whole gang and brought along Tentomon. He was surprised to see that it was just the three of them. He had fun that day too since he _did_ love spending time with Mimi, regardless of the situation. Mimi also made it clear that she _still _wanted him to be her date for their Senior dance. That still made Koushirou more confused and he _still_ didn't understand why she just didn't ditch Yamato and date him. She hanged around him like she was interested in him whenever Yamato wasn't around. 

He didn't want to think of her thinking that she was "too good" for a person like him or him being "too nerdy and unpopular" for her, or anything like that because it didn't suit her. He knew that Mimi wasn't shallow and that she had to have had a reason for not taking their already great friendship to the next level--other than his being too shy to initiate it. 

The reason for Mimi's indirectly and unwillingly rejecting Koushirou was quite simple. She valued her friendship more than her own happiness in the romance department, which showed how unselfish she truly was and how she really fit having the Crest Trait of Purity. Mimi liked Koushirou a _lot_, more than she ever admitted to herself, but going with Koushirou might affect her friendship with someone else that was _very_ important to her...Miyako. 

Miyako was her reason for not dating Koushirou or letting their friendship go a step further. Mimi knew that Miyako had a big crush on him and that she had had it longer. Mimi also saw Miyako as a sister to her. Mimi didn't want ruin that sisterly bond over a guy, even if she _was_ crazy about guy. She knew how sensitive Miyako was when it came to guys and how she felt that they ignored her, so Mimi felt that she would end up hurting Miyako if she went with the one boy that Miyako had been after for the past couple of years. 

To this day, she hated the fact that nothing could ever happen between her and Koushirou, but she just sighed and said that it was for the best. After that kiss, she wasn't sure if Koushirou felt the same way back or not. He seemed to act normally as usual when they saw each other again in school that following week and times after that. 

She wasn't happy with Yamato at all since her plan to date him to get over Koushirou obviously wasn't working since she _did_ still have a thing for him. She liked Yamato as a friend, but that was about it. She saw him as cute, as others did, but she still couldn't see anything be_yond_ friendship when it came to him in general and no matter how many hints Mimi threw at him, Yamato just didn't catch them. This, of course, made Mimi feel a bit bad, but she didn't have the heart to drop him. He was so infatuated with her, he couldn't tell that she wasn't happy in the relationship that they had. 

The two had even shared kisses, but, to her, it had no meaning. Not like the one she and Koushirou had shared. She still thought about it to this day and whenever she _did_ kiss Yamato, she imagines that she is kissing Koushirou. 

Koushirou thought of that day a lot too and how he had gotten his first _real_ kiss and how he felt that he and Mimi "broke up," even though they were never officially together. He also still had a thing for Mimi, which was pretty obvious. He still wonders and ponders every day _why_ Mimi wasn't honest with him in that sense, but he always kept coming to a dead end... 

Koushirou stopped pacing abruptly and stopped thinking about Mimi as he saw a doctor walking towards him. It was the same one who had taken his mother to prepare for the delivery. He, of course, started to grill the poor guy. 

"How is my mother! Is she okay? Has the baby been born yet? Did she have a boy or a girl? Can she talk to me?" He grabbed the shirt of the doctor and said in a demented like manner, "_Tell_ me!!! I can't take the waiting anymore!" He then started to shake the poor doctor. "Tell the baby to hurry up if it isn't here yet! Hurry up! Don't just stand there! Tell me what is going on! Do your damn job!" 

"Whoa, calm down Mr. Izumi," the doctor said between shakes. His eyes then started to swirl. "You're giving me a headache." 

Jou and Miyako grabbed Koushirou so that he could release his unusually tight grip on the doctor.   
****   
RP: Hmm, strange how it took the both of them to do that. Koushirou is quite strong when he is hysterical or freaking out, I suppose. 

Tentomon: I don't think that's it. 

RP: What is it, then? 

Tentomon: See, crazy people are stronger than that of your average human. 

RP: (Nodding in agreement) Oh...that explains it... 

Tentomon: And thanks to your fics involving him, Koushirou-han has gone be_yond_ that! 

RP: (Bows) Happy to be of service! ^_^ 

Tentomon/Koushirou: (Sighed) -_-   
****   
"I'm sorry about that, doctor," Miyako apologized. She then laughed nervously. "This is his first child." 

The doctor laughed. 

"I can see that. He _is_ getting a new brother or sister afterall." 

"I wonder how he would react if he was married and his wife was about to give birth," Jou whispered to Miyako. 

"I don't think I would _want_ to know," the younger girl laughed. She then smirked at Jou. "I would just tell the doctors to keep him out of the room while I am giving birth…" 

Jou laughed. 

"Yeah, she probably would." The boy the realized what the younger girl had said. "_What_!!!" 

"I'm just kidding around, senpai." 

The older boy wasn't sure if the younger one was joking around or not. Koushirou and Miyako _had_ been getting a bit close, but as far as he knew, the two didn't date. They weren't even an actual couple, just close friends, like Koushirou was with Mimi. 

"Well, I just came to let you know that your mother is doing fine, but she still hasn't given birth yet." 

"Just let me know of this one thing…" 

"What's that?" 

The boy got a serious expression on his face and looked up at the doctor. 

"Will she die? Will the baby die?" 

"_Kou_shirou, calm down! The doctor knows what he is doing! Why are you assuming something like that?!?" 

The younger boy looked over at Jou and muttered, "I have my reasons." He then looked back at the doctor and asked, "Well?" 

"We aren't having any complications, if that's what you mean, and I don't plan on them occurring. Your mother is in good shape; her blood pressure is normal, her pulse rate is average, and everything else with her is okay, including her heart rate. She is a very healthy woman. The only thing she needs now is her husband right by her side." 

"I called him three times on my cell phone and I still haven't been able to reach him! He must be in some kind of a meeting, which is why I can't reach him! What do I do?!? He should be here!" 

"I'm sure that he will be here when he can. Lucky for you, your mother's friend is here with her." 

Ever since Ms. Hanada and Mrs. Izumi met one another months ago, the two became instant friends--the best of friends as a matter of fact. Mrs. Izumi liked the fact that she finally had someone else to talk and associate with that wasn't all gossipy or a bit shallow, like her friends of the apartment building she lived in. 

When Mrs. Izumi got those bad contraction pains, Koushirou called her immediately out of panic. He didn't know what to do, and even though Miyako was giving him the right advice, he was still too panicked to even consider her suggestions. Miyako didn't take this the wrong way nor did she get offended, even though everything she had told Koushirou was the same exact thing Ms. Hanada had told him. 

He got her on her cell phone. She was at school doing some last minute planning for her upcoming Monday class. When she found out, she dropped everything and told Koushirou to get her to the hospital as fast as he could and that she would meet them there. She also gave him some more suggestions to help her out. 

Koushirou was glad that Ms. Hanada had gotten there so soon and was grateful that Odaiba Elementary was so close to the hospital for her to get there as fast as she did. She got there before Mrs. Izumi, Miyako, and Koushirou arrived. 

"I have to get going now and keep an eye on your mother. I'll let you know what is going on later and when your father _does_ arrive, tell the receptionist at the desk so that she can contact the nurse to let him come back and see your mother." 

The boy nodded as the doctor left the three teens. 

"See, nothing to worry about," Miyako smiled. "Your mother is completely healthy. Her contractions are getting closer and closer together which means the labor time is winding down and that the baby should be born pretty soon." 

"You sure do know a lot." 

"I should hope so," Miyako said, giving Jou a playful smirk. "I _am_ a girl afterall and that's what we learn about in Sex Education. What do _you_ all learn about?" 

"Never _mind_ that! You're not supposed to know about it!" 

The girl smirked at Jou and told all that she knew. Koushirou, once again, ignored the two while they conversed. Miyako got so detailed with her descriptions, it made Jou turn red in the face from nervousness. Koushirou probably would have reacted in the same fashion too, if he would have been listening. 

"You know more than _I_ do!" the boy responded hyperly and nervously. "You-You're not supposed to-to know about all of that!" he stammered. 

She just laughed and turned her attention back towards Koushirou. She decided to stop teasing Jou for a while. 

"C'mon, she will probably have the baby soon." 

"But _why_ is it taking so long?" Koushirou asked. "We have been here for over an hour! Why can't the baby just _come_ out!" 

"Because it doesn't work that way! Besides, normally with one's first born it takes the longest to deliver anyway. So I've been told..." 

Koushirou gave her a slightly annoyed look and Miyako then remembered that this wasn't Mrs. Izumi's first born; this was her second. She too knew about the first child she had had and how he had died a short while after his birth and if he had survived, how he would have been almost Jou's age now. 

"Sorry," she apologized. 

"That's okay," Miyako-kun," Koushirou sighed. "I tend to forget that myself sometimes." 

"Forget what?" Jou asked. 

"About how Mrs. Izumi has had a child before." 

"Oh." 

Everyone pretty much knew that Koushirou was adopted and that Mrs. Izumi had had a child before him. He told both Miyako and Mimi about it who told every one of their friends out of the Chosens. Mimi now understood why Mr. and Mrs. Izumi fostered so many children, to make up for the one that they had lost. 

"God, I wish she would hurry up and have the child and I wish my father would hurry up and get here! I left him a _ton_ of messages! He had to have received at least _one_ of them!" 

"You should try calling him again," Jou suggested. 

The boy shrugged and decided to do just that. He didn't have anything to lose by doing so. This time, when he called, he got the receptionist of the company that his father worked for. She told Koushirou that he had left for the day quite a while ago after his meeting to tend to some personal business, almost an entire half-hour. 

"Thank you." 

He hung up the phone and turned to Jou and Miyako who were debating on which Science was more difficult, Chemistry or Biology. Miyako was complaining, saying that Biology was a more difficult science while Jou argued that Chemistry was. 

"He's not there," he told them. "According to the receptionist, he left a long time ago." 

The boy then got a bit angered. 

"How could he leave like that! What personal business does he have that couldn't be taken care of another day!" 

Jou and Miyako tried to calm the boy down, but he kept complaining and arguing. Both just decided to let him rant and ignore him pretty much. He ranted so much he didn't even notice that Mr. Izumi had walked up. 

"Koushirou!" 

The boy turned to see the older man. 

"Otousan, you are here!" he said in surprise 

"Of _course_ I'm here! I got your message and rushed to get here as soon as possible! It was murder trying to get here, I think I just may give in and buy myself a car instead of relying on public transportation, but never mind that. How is your mother? Is she okay? Did she have the baby yet?" 

The boy shook his head and explained to him what had happened. 

"It's a good thing Miyako was with you." 

"If it weren't for me, Izumi-senpai would have gone crazy." 

The girl laughed to herself a bit after saying that. To her, Koushirou was beyond crazy over the situation. 

"Thank you, kids, now where do I go?" 

Koushirou pointed towards where he was to go. He thanked them and left Koushirou and the others behind in a very rushed fashion. 

"So that's why he wasn't around when you called," Jou said. "He was in a business meeting and the other time you called, he was on his way here. 

"Now what do we do?" Koushirou asked. 

The boy started to panic a bit. 

"I don't know that much about children or how to take care of them or what to even _do_ with them! What if I do something wrong? What if I offend him or her?" 

Jou, who had grown tired of standing around, took a seat and started to flip through a magazine. 

"You've done a good job with that adopted girl," Jou said while looking for an interesting article to read. "The one who lost her entire family to that fire a while back." 

"Yeah, to her, you are like her older brother _and_ you baby-sit her on occasion so that's good practice right there," Miyako smiled. 

"I guess I _am_ learning to associate with younger children more, but I still do not feel that I am ready to be given that responsibility 24/7." 

"Stop worrying about that, Izumi-senpai. Kimiko loves you very much and sees you as a brother, so I am sure that your new brother or sister will too." 

"Yeah, Kimiko-kun really appreciates and respects you. If it weren't for you, she would have never gotten a new home." 

When Koushirou first visited the Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency & Orphanage, he met a four-year-old girl by the name of Kimiko. She had lost her entire family to a fire. The girl started to talk with Koushirou and instantly labeled him as her new brother and wanted to go home with him. When the girl looked as if she was about to cry, Koushirou got incredibly nervous. Not knowing what to do with a child in that state, he promised her that he would visit her every Sunday until she could find a real family again and kept his promise. 

Every Sunday he would visit the young girl, but the more and more he would visit, the more and more depressed she would become since no immediate family would take her in nor would any non relative for that matter. As the weeks went by, her friends would get homes and adopted, which made her feel alone. Every time she would make a new friend, they would get adopted and she would never see them again. 

Koushirou started to feel a bit sorry for her and wished that there was something he could do. He knew that taking her home with him was out of the question. He wasn't ready for children, let alone marriage, and he was too young to worry about kids and marriage in general. He then remembered "Sui-obasan," who had always said time and time again how she wished to have a child of her own and how she wasn't blessed with the ability to do so. She never got into detail, but Koushirou figured that she physically couldn't have children in some way. 

Koushirou figured that she would like Kimiko and how Kimiko could _really_ use a family. He told Ms. Hanada about the girl and she agreed to it. Just from Koushirou's description of her, she loved the child already and loved her even more when she met Kimiko in person. 

They got everything arranged and set up and surprised Kimiko that beautiful late May afternoon… 

_"Well, I have to get going again, Kimiko-kun. I would stay longer, but I have school tomorrow as well as tests."_

_"Okay, oniichan," the girl sighed with a frown._

_"You shouldn't be so sad," Koushirou told her. "You'll get to see me again."_

_"But I have to wait a long time before I can see you again."_

_"Not too long. You'll probably see me again tomorrow."_

_The girl got excited and clapped her hands._

_"Hontou!?! (Really!?!)"_

_"Zettai. (Absolutely)," he nodded._

_"Sugoi! (Cool!)"_

_The girl got up and hugged Koushirou._

_"I can't wait to see you again, oniichan!"_

_He nodded and started to walk off. He then turned back and gave the young girl a sly smirk._

_"Well, aren't you coming back to Odaiba with me?"_

_The girl looked at him in pure confusion and asked, "huh?"_

_"Are you not coming with me?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I thought you would have caught on by now. You are coming back to Odaiba with me."_

_The girl stood there for a moment and then finally let what Koushirou had said sink into her head. The girl jumped up and down and shouted out "Yay!" over and over again. Koushirou smiled at her. He was glad to see her happy for a change. He hated leaving her every week._

_The girl was calmed down by Mrs. Mitsuishi who smiled at Kimiko._

_"Surprise, Kimiko-chan," Mrs. Mitsuishi told her._

_"Kiyoko-mama, did you hear that! Oniichan said that I can go home with him!"_

_The woman nodded and smiled. She was glad that Koushirou had gone through the trouble of finding a home for the girl. She too felt sorry for her and was even mad at the girl's family. She had lots of family, unlike Koushirou, and no relative of hers was willing to take her in. She thought of all of them as "ungrateful ingrates."_

_"Now you can see Koushirou-kun as much as you'd like, but you aren't going to stay with his mother and father."_

_"I would let you if I could, Kimiko-kun, but I can't."_

_"Then how will I be able to see you, oniichan?"_

_"Remember that nice lady that came with me to visit you a while ago?"_

_"Sui-chan?"_

_The boy nodded._

_"What did you think of her?"_

_"I hate it that she doesn't visit every week like you do! I've only seen her," the girl started to count on fingers, "four times. I like her a lot, and she's a lot of fun!"_

_"I'm glad you think so," Koushirou smiled at her._

_Right at that moment, Ms. Hanada walked in. It was all a part of the surprise that Koushirou had gotten together. Kimiko saw Ms. Hanada and ran up to give her a big hug._

_"Sui-chan, I'm so glad to see you again!"_

_"So am I," Ms. Hanada said, picking the girl up and hugging her tightly. "I missed you quite a bit."_

_Ms. Mitsuishi smiled at the two. They looked like a happy family already._

_"So, are you ready to come home with Chibi Koushi and me?"_

_The girl nodded._

_"Yay, I get to go home with Kou-niichan and Sui-chan!"_

_The girl stopped hugging Ms. Hanada, who put her down._

_"When do I leave!"_

_"Whenever you are ready to," Mrs. Mitsuishi told her._

_The girl smiled._

_"I have to pack all of my stuff now."_

_"No you don't. We already did that for you," Mrs. Mitsuishi explained. "During your visitation time from Koushirou-kun here, I packed everything for you. I knew that you were leaving today. I'll go get your things."_

_The older lady turned and walked off, leaving Koushirou and Ms. Hanada with the young girl._

_"How do you like your surprise, Kimiko-kun?" Koushirou asked._

_"I love it! I can't believe it! I am finally going to get a new home to live in!"_

_"I'm glad that you are too," he told her. "I'm glad that she has a home now and I am glad that Sui-obasan will have someone living with her now," Koushirou thought, glad of how things had turned out. "Neither one of them will ever be lonely again. Sui-obasan wants to have children, but obviously can't, and she is divorced. Kimiko-kun has family that doesn't want to take the time or effort to take her in. I'm sure the two will get along very well."_

_A short while later, Mrs. Mitsuishi returned holding the few things that Kimiko owned, which wasn't much. One child sized suitcase of clothing and a small bag of toys that weren't destroyed in the fire._

_"Here you go, Kimiko-chan, all of your belongings."_

_Koushirou took the suitcase and the bag for her._

_"The paperwork has already been done and the judge has already signed the adoption papers. Kimiko-kun is legally yours, Hanada-san."_

_The woman handed some papers to Ms. Hanada._

_"I'm glad of that. It took so long for all of that paper work to go through."_

_"Yeah, I know what you mean, but those are the rules. The adoption process takes a good while." The woman then turned to Kimiko. "Since everything is in order, you can leave right away if you choose to."_

_The girl was ready and willing to go and smiled happily, but that smile soon left her face._

_"Kimiko, what is the matter?" Ms. Hanada asked._

_The girl started to cry a bit and hugged Ms. Mitsuishi._

_"I'm going to miss Kiyoko-mama!"_

_During the time Kimiko was there, she and Ms. Mitsuishi had grown very close to one another, and the two were quite attached to each other. It was like they had a mother, daughter bond that couldn't be broken._

_Ms. Mitsuishi was going to miss her as well. She was like one of her own children and she would have taken her in herself if she didn't have four children of her own already. Financially, it wouldn't be possible for her or her husband to do. Their children were all in their mid teens to early 20s and all of them were in lots of school activities and then there were college fees and such for the older ones. She kneeled down to Kimiko and wiped one of her tears away._

_"I can always visit you, Kimiko-chan. I know where you are moving to and your address as well. I will be personally checking up on you and Hanada-san since your case is my responsibility. I'll visit you as much as possible if that'll make you happy."_

_The girl stopped sniffling and hugged Ms. Mitsuishi again._

_"Okay, Kiyoko-mama. I'm going to miss you a lot, but I love Sui-chan just as much as I do you and Kou-chan. I have two mommies now and a new brother!" the girl smiled._

_"That's a good girl now," Mrs. Mitsuishi said, almost wanting to cry._

_The girl turned towards Ms. Hanada and smiled. She then said, "Let's go home, atarashii Sui-mama! (New Mother Sui!)"_

_Ms. Hanada smiled at this and grabbed the young girl by the hand as they left to head back to Odaiba…_

"You know, Isako likes you a lot too," Miyako pointed out. "She thinks of you as her brother." 

The glasses-wearing girl smiled at her friend. 

"Let's face it, Izumi-senpai, you get along with children better than you give yourself credit for. You get along with two children who are under the age of eight. I'm sure that you will get along with your new sibling with no problems at all." 

"Maybe it was meant for Koushirou to have to encounter younger children since he was going to end up having a younger sibling. It's a premonition!" 

"Senpai, you are into psychic type stuff?" 

"No, not really. I just have that mentality and belief that everything happens for a reason. We may not understand it or know what that reason may be, but there is definitely one. Apparently, Koushirou having to be around Kimiko-kun and Isako-kun was foreshadowing his having to learn how to get along with children much younger than himself." 

"That's an interesting way of putting it, senpai. Maybe you're right." 

Koushirou just shrugged as he started to pace around again, still worrying over his obviously healthy mother. Jou and Miyako remained seated as they watched their friend pace around. Jou grew bored of the magazine he had been reading and set it aside. Miyako was looking towards the door as if she were waiting around for someone. 

More minutes passed and Koushirou seemed to have been wearing a groove into the floor. 

"Koushirou, stop pacing around so much! You're driving _me_ crazy!" Jou shouted at him. "Your mother will be fine!" 

Right at that moment, a person walked up behind Koushirou giggling and said, "Yeah, you should really listen to him. He knows what he is talking about." 

Everyone turned to see... 

"Mimi-oneesama!/Mimi-kun?/Mimi-san?" 

"Hey everyone," the girl smiled. 


	31. Comments & Responses

Hey everyone. This is the official last part of Koushirou's Search! It involves comments from you readers and them being commented on. If you guys reviewed or anything and it wasn't commented on, I just missed it and I am very sorry about that. I _did_ address as many as possible, though, unless more than one review said the same exact thing, pretty much, and I just commented on the first one I saw. Well, I'll stop rambling on about this and let you read. Besides, there's another Author's Note at the end of this.   
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Part 30: Comments & Responses...

Tentomon: Hello everyone! 

Other Digis: Hi!! 

Gomamon: We are here to answer and comment on some of the reviews left by you readers. 

Hawkmon: Bingo! 

Tailmon: In other words, this is just a feeble attempt to get us Digimon, other than Tentomon's brief part, in here somehow. 

Hawkmon: Bingo! 

Piyomon: Quit it with the "bingos." You don't sound right saying bingo! 

Hawkmon: Bingo! 

Tailmon: -_- 

Gabumon: Is he drunk again? -_- 

Palmon: Do you _have_ to ask? 

Patamon: I take that as a yes then... 

Wormmon: _Oh_ yeah... 

Hawkmon: Bingo! (Laughs drunkinly) 

Tentmon: Hawkmon, if we give you something to drink, will you stop saying bingo and help us out? 

Hawkmon: (Gives victory sign) Arigabingo! 

V-mon: Oh-kay... 

Tailmon: Okay Hawkmon! Don't tick me off today! We have an obligation to fufill to these readers! Now stop goofing off and help us out! 

The drunk bird dances around, which causes everyone to sweatdrop, minus Tailmon who was starting to get those anger nerves on her forehead. 

Tailmon: Okay, that does it! (Trying to claw at Hawkmon) Get over here! _I'll_ sober you up! 

Agumon, Gabumon, and V-mon held Tailmon back. 

Gabumon: He'll sober up eventually. Let Patamon and Armadimon take care of it. 

Patamon: Yeah, we'll help him out. 

Armadimon: You can bet on that! 

The two take Hawkmon out to try and get him sober. 

Palmon: Hey, did Koushirou ever move out? 

Tentomon: Yep, Koushirou-han moved out just like he said he would. 

V-mon: But what school did he end up going to? 

Tentomon: Odaiba High of course. 

Wormmon: So he ended up going to public school after all. 

Tentomon: He didn't want to move _too_ far away from the Izumis, even though he was accepted into all three Private High Schools he applied for. He still felt that it was his duty as a big brother to help take care of Miki-han. 

Piyomon: Okay, but--- 

Tailmon: (Interrupting) Okay, okay, let's just get this started! Leave some questions for the actual readers! 

Tentomon: Yes, let us. (Clears throat) The first review comes from a reader named, (looks at card), Smegit. The comment of Smegit-han is a three-parter... 

_The made-up characters in this fic really stood out, they actually had personalities, amazing!_

V-mon: RP's response to that is a big, "thank you!" RP really enjoys making up characters and stuff like that. She really appreciates the fact that her made up characters were noticed.   
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_I liked how you use Japanese words to give this fic atmosphere._

Tailmon: RP likes to be informative which is why she uses Japanese phrases and names sometimes. She believes that since the show is based on something "Japanese" that she should try to get it more "Japanese" like. She knows that there is _no_ way she could be all "perfect," but she still likes to share the little bit of Japanese info she has with everyone else--like the differences dealing with the school years and the holidays. Thanks for noticing. 

Agumon: She is also trying to learn how to read the language in general, which is why she uses a bit of Japanese in her fics and she is probably getting a bit better with it. _May_be! ^^ 

Gabumon: (Mutters with a sweat drop) Probably not...   
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_I also like the small bond of trust between Mimi and Koushirou._

Palmon: Something _else_ RP was aiming for. Strengthing the bond between Koushirou and my Mimi which is why for this fic, she is showing off Mimi's more serious side than her usual playful one. She's always disliked the way some people portrays the two when it came to their interacting with one another. 

Wormmon: Such as? 

Palmon: Well, she always hated the fact that people would have Koushirou do nothing but sit in front of his computer and not notice anyone else and look at hentai the entire time or fics where Mimi is portrayed as stupid or incredibly airheaded or overly self centered and Koushirou insulting her intelligence. That defeats the purpose of her character having the Crest of Purity, pretty much, if Mimi acts self centered and spoiled. Sure she was a bit spoiled in the 1st season, but she matured during that and lived up to the true meaning of what her crest stood for and helped me to evolve to Lilimon. ^_^ 

Tentomon: Also, that would be out of character for Koushirou-han as well, to insult anyone. For the original, just like with Iori-han, he is _very_ polite and would never insult or belittle anyone; regardless of his being a bit more knowledgeable than the others. Every once in a while he may make sarcastic remarks, but that's about it. 

Gabumon: RP has never liked Out Of Character (OOC) fics much unless the fic is a humor or comedy fic and _every_one is portrayed OOC, not just a certain few.   
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Gomamon: Let's see, the next one here is from...(looks at card)...Guardianmon in reference to all that happened in part 11. 

Gabumon: The adoption stuff, right? 

V-mon: Yep. 

_I'm impressed with on how you handled details (and came up with them)._

Tentomon: Thanks from her to you! Believe it or not, RP-han came up with _all_ of that from off the top of her head. Names and everything, but she had to do a bit of info gathering for the stuff on the biological mother of Koushirou-han. 

Hawkmon: Yeah!! Misayoshi Miki has a name meaning behind it. Misayoshi means "beautiful and intelligent." With the way RP spells it, here's what each character would mean... 

Everyone looks over at Hawkmon in surprise who is now wearing a Professor's cap. 

Piyomon: What are _you_ doing here? 

Hawkmon: I'm fine guys! I have sobered up. 

Tentomon: What did you two do to him? 

Armadimon: We just gave him a glass of water. 

Patamon: I know it's weird, but after the drink of water he went back to normal. 

Tentomon: That _is_ weird... 

Hawkmon: Hey! I am trying to explain some stuff here! 

Everyone shut up and let Hawkmon go back to explaining. 

Hawkmon: Now as I was saying, this is what the name means... 

He takes his pointer and points it towards a blank board, but stops. 

Patamon: Why did you stop? 

Wormmon: Aren't you going to write the characters on the board first? 

Hawkmon: (Blushes nervously) I forgot what characters she used to spell out her name. ^^; 

Everyone facefaulted. 

Hawkmon: Gomen. ^^; 

Palmon: Get out of here!! Next comment please!   
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Piyomon: Okay, okay, here goes... 

_Do I detect daikari? I sure hope so ^_^_

V-mon: (Dreamy look) A match made in heaven! 

Patamon: No it's not! My Takeru with Hikari is a match made in heaven because they both have partners that can evolve to angels. 

V-mon: Oh no! The lamest excuse to put Takeru and Hikari together! The bad angel excuse that Rabid Takari Fans (RTFs) give!! 

Patamon: But it's true... 

V-mon: No way! I think Daisuke would be very happy with Hikari and that would make me and Tailmon be together forever... 

Tailmon: -_- 

V-mon: Don't you agree, Tailmon? 

Tailmon: I refuse to answer such a ridiculous question. 

Patamon: See, Tailmon and me should be together forever, isn't that right, Tailmon! 

Tailmon: (Resists the urge to slash Patamon) 

Patamon: See, she is speechless and likes me better! 

V-mon: Um, why is there fire surrounding her? 

Patamon: And her eyes are kind of firery red too... 

Tentomon: I think we better step back... 

Hawkmon: She's about to blow! 

All of the Digimon backed up except for Patamon who was still trying to figure out what was wrong. 

Patamon: Um, Tailmon? 

Tailmon: (Screams and explodes) 

Piyomon: (After the smoke clears) Is everyone okay? 

Tailmon: (Smiles) I never felt better. I finally released all of that stress that had been building up inside of me. 

Armadimon: Patamon!! 

Hawkmon: (Giggling) Roast pig! 

Patamon: (Coughs up smoke) I...am...not...a...pig... 

Gabumon: Back to the comment for anyone else who is wondering, RP is a fan of Daikari but she is also a fan of Takari. The thing is, she feels that Daikari is more fun to write about because of Daisuke and Hikari's contrasting personalities, which she pretty much hinted at back in part 12 with the party. 

Wormmon: She _was_ hinting at Daikari for that part so Guardianmon "hoped" right. ^_^   
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Tentomon: Here is another comment based on the real parents of Koushirou-han... 

_I liked the ideas you used about Koushirou's biological parents, especially the qualities that he inherited from them._

Agumon: That was no easy task coming up with the features, so RP decided to have Koushirou resemble his biological mother moreso than his father to keep her "mysterious," sort of like how RP sees Koushirou in general anyway, "mysterious." 

Tentomon: Another reason why RP-han decided to make Misayoshi-han, "mysterious" was because of the lack of information revealed about her in the show in general. All they said was that, "she died," pretty much. At least with the father of Koushirou-han, they mentioned him being a professor of Mathematics at Odaiba University.   
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V-mon: Ooh, here's the next comment... 

_Also I am thankful that for once Daisuke has been portrayed in a positive light instead of the usual ignorant bumbling character in other fics._

V-mon: RP hates it when Daisuke is portrayed that way too. He really isn't all that dumb like some people make him out to be, even though she felt that he was a _tad_ bit OOC for the party. 

Patamon: Yeah, no one thinks he's dumb or stupid or anything close to that for the original version of the show, but for the English version, the majority of everyone seemed to bash him for some reason. 

Tentomon: Even Koushirou-han and Iori-han did! That shows how messed up it is if _they_ were insulting Daisuke-han! 

Wormmon: Poor guy... 

Tailmon: One thing RP likes to do is to keep everyone portrayed the way they would be if this were an original episode. She knows a bit about the original and how the characters act around Daisuke and with him. No one really bashes or insults him, Takeru included. The two don't hate each other and are pretty good friends, actually. Takeru hangs over at the Motomiya home quite a bit. Daisuke is hyper, playful, and energetic no matter which version you watch and _does_ say goofy things at times, but no one thinks he's an idiot because of it. 

Gabumon: RP seems to like the Motomiya siblings in general. She hated the way the fans of the actual show were with Jun and how everyone just assumed that Yamato hated Jun. RP obviously doesn't think this way because of how he acted towards her when they first met one another. Yamato just hated the "fan treatment" that Jun gave him, not her in general. 

Palmon: She thinks that both Jun and Daisuke are good characters and plans on writing a fic about the brother/sister bond between the two of them. It's on her list of things to write about, which has gotten pretty long... 

Wormmon: No kidding! I know she plans on writing a _real_ Koushirou x Mimi (Koumi) someday... 

Gomamon: Then there's her Jou x Mimi (Joumi) fic she's still working on... 

Armadimon: And that fic she's still working on dealing with my Iori working for the Digimon Kaizer... 

Agumon: Any Taichi stories in mind? 

Palmon: Nope, but she did have an OOC comedy Tamers fic in mind starring that kid Jenrya... 

Armadimon: Cool! (Thinks for a moment) Who's Jenrya? 

Palmon: The boy with the Terriermon from Digimon Tamers! 

Armadimon: What's he like? 

Tentomon: A bit like Iori-han when you get right down to it. He's a pacifist too, but for different reasons. Iori-han was a pacifist and hated killing because of his father being killed. As for the stuff with Jenrya-han, let's have his Digimon partner answer that... 

Terriermon: Hi! ^_^ 

All: Hi Terriermon. 

Terriermon: I heard what you said about this Iori character. Jen is a little like that, but he did something personally that made him such a pacifist. Jen hates any kind of violence in general because of himself. He used his martial arts on a bully, but overdid it and really hurt the person. 

Armadimon: Aww. That's sad. 

Terriermon: Moumantai! ^_^ After that, he didn't want to fight for any reason anymore, which included him not wanting me to fight, but he learned that we all have to fight sometimes. 

Tentomon: Okay, thank you Terriermon for your description of your human partner. 

Terriermon: No problem. ^_^ 

Tentomon: Now, let's continue on...   
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Hawkmon: Here's the next comment... 

_Also I like your long stories, you make them very detailed with tons of action and of course humor!_

Tentomon: Of course you are referring to me for the humour... 

Gomamon: (Sighs) How can they be referring to you if you haven't been _in_ this fic much! 

Tentomon: Oh yeah, good point. ^^ 

Gomamon: (Sighs at Tentomon/continues on) Thanks a lot. RP seems to always end up writing long stories, even with 'nonfics' that she's never posted anyplace because she likes to get into detail so much. (Smiles) At least now we know that RP isn't running anyone off with the length of this fic.   
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Piyomon: Here's the next comment... 

_I think you characters are definitly IC, except maybe that "Night of the Living Piedmon" one._

Tentomon: Don't _remind_ me of that nightmare I had to live through... 

Patamon: _You_? _I_ was the one who had a human partner that was violent! 

Gabumon: Well, my partner was suicidal! 

Tentomon: Mine was a mental case! Doesn't _that_ count for something!! 

Armadimon: Calm down everyone. Night of the Living Piedmon was purposely a Comedy OOC fic, but she is glad that she attempted doing what she was aiming for, for this fic...keeping everyone IC! Thanks for the opinion. ^_^   
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Hawkmon: This is one of RP's favorites for comments... 

_I loved your made-up characters they seemed so… REAL! Especially the 'Keisuke' and 'Anje' characters, they really stood out._

V-mon: Hey, you know what's ironic about that? 

Wormmon: No, what niisan? 

V-mon: The part with Keisuke and Anje was one of RP's favorite parts to write. 

Wormmon: Cool! 

V-mon: Thanks a lot. She had fun making up both Anje and Keisuke. Anje's character was based on an old teacher RP used to have for her old Honors Algebra II class. 

Wormmon: She keeps saying that her teacher had "Permenant PMS," whatever _that_ means. 

V-mon: I don't feel like explaining it to you so go ask the "oh wise one." 

Tentomon: Somebody rang? 

V-mon: Yeah, explain to Wormmon what RP means by "Permenant PMS" while I finish commenting on Anje and Keisuke for the readers. 

Tentomon: (Sweatdropped) Um...okay... 

V-mon: Anyway, RP's old teacher would snap at you if you get a _right_ answer and really seemed to hate kids, so she just used that old teacher. The only difference between the Anje character and her teacher is how mean each one was. Anje was worse. 

Armadimon: Originally, Anje was going to be nice, but RP changed her mind and wanted some more conflict and an excuse to have Koushirou get mad, which isn't very often with him unless his computer is being harmed in some way. 

V-mon: As for Keisuke, he was a Japanese male version of herself, minus the sibling stuff. She's an only child, but everything Keisuke wanted to do is exactly what she wishes to do for a part of her life someday. ^_^   
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_Not many writers can give made-up characters so much personality and emotion, and the way you did it proves that you are extremely talented...Oh, and in response to your question "do you think that the characters in this fic are too out of character?" Nope, they seem pretty much IN character, besides, this story is so engrossing that I wouldn't notice if anyone was OOC._

Piyomon: RP says, "Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu!" ^_^ 

Palmon: Yeah, she works very hard to keep them IC. ^_^ 

Tailmon: I suppose all of her hard work is paying off... 

Patamon: (Snickering) _What_ hard work...   
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_Finally! Izzy gets in trouble! *evil grin* Amusing scene with the guard. LOL I think I know where the inspiration for that came from. ^_~_

Tentomon: RP says to you, "Naturally. lol"   
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_Oh and I forgot to review chapter 19 when it came out. I must say that it was a fave for me. I love angst! ^_^ And the angst in that chapter was so well done._

V-mon: Another "ironic" situation! Chapter 19 was also a favorite part by RP to write. She loves putting Miyako in romantic situations, but in an angst filled way. 

Hawkmon: She likes writing about my Miyako-san. ^_^ 

Wormmon: She seems to like angst related situations including Miyako in general. 

Agumon: Pretty weird if you ask me... 

Hawkmon: Yeah, it is...   
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Betamon: Okay, here's the next comment... (Gets a bunch of stares) What? 

Tentomon: And you are here because? 

Betamon: Aww, c'mon, can't I hang around for a while? I have not had the chance to do anything for this entire fic! 

Tentomon: Probably because you and Michael aren't in it! 

Betamon: So? I'm in here for the sequel, I hope, so why can't I do it now? Besides, RP likes Michael and me. 

Tentomon: (Sighs) Go ahead... 

_Uh oh, Izzy will probably be grounded til 30 after this....and definitly won't be able to talk w/ any of his friends for a while! My sister loves the grand theft auto game too ^_^._

Betamon: Izzy being grounded until he is 30 is _way_ too illogical... 

Tentomon: I agree! 

Betamon: It should be 40! :-p 

Tentomon: (Facefaults) 

Betamon: (Laughs and continues) Cool about your sister and the game. It _is_ a fun game. Michael plays all of the time. One of RP's favorite things to do is just finding new ways to get the cops to chase her or trying out stunts with different vehicles. The steeper the ramp, the more fun it is. 

Gomamon: Sounds like fun. 

Betamon: She also likes to find new ways to crash too. 

Gomamon: On purpose? 

Betamon: Not exactly. ^^; 

Gomamon: -_- 

Betamon: She's just a rotten player. ^^   
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_I loved your made-up characters especially the guard who seemed like a cross between Inspector Gadget and that other inspector from the Pink Panther movies. I couldn't stop laughing at his actions._

All Digimon minus Tentomon: (Laughing at Koushirou and the guard) 

Tentomon: That was _not_ funny! My Koushirou-han could have been hurt! 

Other Digimon: (Still laughing) 

Tentomon: Hey!! 

Agumon: C'mon, Tentomon, you have to admit that the entire situation was hilarious! (Holds stomach from laughing so much) 

Tentomon: No, it was not! (Cross tone) Anyway, shouldn't we be commenting on the comment? 

Everyone is laughing too much to answer. 

Tentomon: (Sighs) Okay, _I'll_ comment then! (Reads comment) The thought of Inspector Gadget nor Inspector Kleauseau (sp?), came to mind when writing that, but when you mentioned it, RP laughed herself and realized that that goofy kid _could_ be a mix of the two. She didn't even realize it. 

V-mon: (Stopped laughing temporarily) So who did she get the idea for the character from? 

Tentomon: That nerdy kid you always see on the Simpsons with the zit problem and a congested nose whose voice cracks constantly and seems to work everywhere. 

The blue Digi face-faulted. 

V-mon: I like the Inspector Gadget/Inspector Kleauseau (sp?) mix better...   
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_I have to say that you handled the argument scene between Koushirou and his parents brilliantly. Mr. And Mrs. Izumi were portrayed excellently, considering the situation. I also loved the scene with all the neighbours gossiping on the telephone to each other. ^_^_

Piyomon: Yay!! Someone thought that the argument with them was well done!! 

Palmon: RP just hypothetically asked around for help with that. 

Tailmon: Yeah, like _real_ parents. 

Hawkmon: She would just go, "Hey, what if you had a child who was brought home by the cops," and "he's never been in trouble before," blah, blah, blah. (Takes a drink from out of a tall glass and giggles a bit) 

Tailmon: And what kind of responses did she get? 

Hawkmon: _Serious_ grounding time and/or smacked for doing something stupid that would _result_ in them being brought home by the cops, regardless of pregnancy of the mother. 

Piyomon: That is pretty strict. ^^ 

Palmon: Hmm, so what about those gossiping neighbors? 

Hawkmon: Just popped into her head to use. No backstory with them, sort of. 

Piyomon: Sort of? 

Hawkmon: Usa, Mako, and Mina. Just think, what has RP liked _ever_ since she first saw it almost eight years ago? 

Tailmon: Oh! Usagi, Makoto, and Minako! 

Piyomon: Sailor Moon references! 

Palmon: Moon, Jupiter, and Venus! Those three _would_ be the most gossipy of the group! 

Hawkmon: (Does a victory pose like Miyako) BINGO!! (Giggles hysterically as he drinks from his tall glass again) 

Piyomon/Palmon/Tailmon: He's drunk again... -_- 

Both Patamon and Armadimon run in while Hawkmon is currently dancing around acting like a fighter pilot. 

Patamon: Don't worry, we'll take care of him! 

Armadimon: Yeah, getting him undrunk is our job now according to Gomamon and Tentomon. 

Patamon: I have the hose ready. 

Armadimon: Roger, Patamon! 

The small, armadillo looking Digimon turned on the water while Patamon aimed the hose. 

Patamon: Have a drink of this, Hawkmon! It's lots of alcohol! 

Hawkmon: Bingo Bingo Bingo Bingo!! (Laughs hysterically) 

The hawk like Digi drank all of the water and passed out. He then stood right back up. 

Hawkmon: What's going on? 

Armadimon: Nothing, now. We fixed you up. ^_^ 

Patamon: Well, it looks like our work here is done. 

Armadimon gave Patamon a high five. Palmon, Tailmon, and Piyomon thought they were all crazy. 

Hawkmon: Let's get to the next comment!   
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_That was mean!!! I wanna know where Koushirou is!_

Patamon: That's because RP is evil and annoying and needs to be locked away! 

Tailmon: What did we tell you about saying bad things about RP? She'll always find a way to get you back! 

Patamon: The story is over! She can't get me in _any_ way!! 

Hawkmon: I wouldn't be so sure... 

The scene changes to that of a football field. 

Football announcer: Kazuki Shigure here along with my partner, Mai Aiki! 

Aiki: Thanks Shigure. This is a game between the Cinncinati Begnals and the Denver Broncos! We are now down to the last few minutes of the final quarter! 

Shigure: The score is still 28 to nothing. I wish things would liven up around here. Onesided games are quite boring. 

Aiki: (Nods her head) Yes, they are. 

Shigure: But what would you expect fromt he Bengals with such a Quarterback? 

Aiki: Good point, but maybe they'll score. 

Shigure: (Scoffs) Yeah, when pigs fly. 

Aiki: Maybe their Quarterback'll actually _pass_ the ball after the snap. 

The game goes on and surprisingly, the Bengals score. 

Aiki: The score is now 28-28! 

Shigure: A lucky break since the Broncos were feeling sorry for them! They _let_ them score! Shall I replay the last few plays of the game? 

Aiki: No! _Any_thing but that! I had enough of the Broncos _purposely_ missing the opportunity to keep the Bengals from scoring. ^^ 

Shigure: I still don't think they're going to win with only 45 seconds left in the game! Overtime maybe, but no win. 

Aiki: There goes the snap!   
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Tailmon and Hawkmon are now on the field. 

Hawkmon: How did we end up here? 

Tailmon: I don't know. What are those humans doing? 

A bunch of players run past them. 

Hawkmon: Football American Style. (Looks around) I wonder where Patamon is...   
****   
Shigure: And he doesn't pass, no surprise, and and...wait! The football is turning into a...a...(confused tone)...pig with wings?!? I thought I'd _never_ live to see the day where pigs actually fly! 

Aiki: Could that be a sign of their actually winning? 

Shigure: (Shakes his head) I doubt it... 

Aiki: The quarterback passes to...himself? 

Shigure: If they score, they'll break the tie and win the game! 

Aiki: He's running...running...and running some more! 

Shigure: Could it be another touch down? 

Aiki: He passes to the linebacker...why, I have no idea seeing as how that particular linebacker is about 20 yards behind him! 

Shigure: 20 seconds left! 

Aiki: The linebacker is now running towards their goal, but is intercepted by some of the Bronco players, but passes the ball _just_ in time! 

Shigure: It doesn't look good for the Bengals folks, but then again, do you all expect them to win anyway? 

Audience: NO!! 

Shigure: The ball is passed back to the Bengals' Quaterback! He is heading down the field with the pig-looking football! 

Patamon: HELP!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! 

Aiki: 10 seconds to spare! 

The Quarterback kept running towards his goal with all of the Bronco Denver players on his tail. 

Both Announcers: 5...4...3...2..1! (Surprised tone) Touchdown? The Bengals win? 

The Quarterback tripped, fell, and was tackled right on the goal line, which caused him to win the game. He then got up and spiked Patamon after he made their touchdown. Tailmon and Hawkmon ran over to Patamon as everyone was cheering for the winning team...shockingly. 

Hawkmon: (Snickers a bit) RP strikes again... 

Tailmon: Are you okay, Patamon? 

Patamon: (Twitches) 

Hawkmon: I think we need a paramedic... 

Tentomon, Armadimon, and Gomamon come in and put Patamon on a stretcher to fix him up. 

Gomamon: He'll be fixed up in no time using fic magic. 

Armadimon: Maybe we should try water like we did with Hawkmon. ^_^ 

Hawkmon: (Shakes his head) We warned him...   
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Gabumon: Hmm, this is an actual comment that deserves a sophisticated answer, good thing I am here to answer it. 

Palmon: What do you mean!! Only Tentomon would say something as selfish as that! Are you saying that none of us are sophisticated enough to answer and respond to these comments! 

Gabumon: (Smiling) Yes... 

Palmon: Oh that's it!! (Tries to hurt Gabumon) Get over here, dog!! (Being held back by Tailmon) Hey! 

Tailmon: Violence is _never_ the answer for you, Palmon. It doesn't suit your nice, caring personality... 

Palmon stops trying to strangle Gabumon with her vines. 

Palmon: You're right, it doesn't suit me to lose my temper. I'm too loving. 

Tailmon: (Nodding) It may not suit you, but, (takes out her claws), it suits me!!! (Tries to go after Gabumon, but was dragged off by V-mon and Agumon) 

Gabumon: (Sweatdrops from Tailmon's outburst) 

_one question though, what is white day? i'm assuming it's a japanese holiday, but i've never heard of it (not that i have a huge resource of japanese culture in my head or anything...)_

Hawkmon: (To Gabumon for Tailmon's outburst) Glad she isn't mad at me. I'll take this one, Gabumon. White Day is like the mirror of St. Valentine's Day in Japan. In Japan, on Valentine's, the girls give boys chocolates and presents to whomever they admire, or their male friends, etc. White Day is the opposite where the boys give gifts or chocolates to the girls. As you already know, Valentine's is February 14, White Day is exactly a month later, March 14. 

Gabumon: White Day is also known as "Marshmallow Day." That's what the day was originally called, but it was changed to White Day later since that was the color of Marshmallows. The thing to do on the day was to give marshmallow candies to the girls who gave boys chocolates on Valentine's, but that's changed and other things are given, not just marshmallow candies. 

Tentomon: There are two main candies that are given out on both White Day and Valentine's; Honmei Chocolates and Giri Chocolates. Giri Chocolates are known as "Obligation Chocolates" and are given to those you feel obligated to give them to... 

Piyomon: Like your friends, classmates, or coworkers. 

Tentomon: Honmei Chocolates are known as "Sweetheart Chocolates" and are given to romantic interests... 

Piyomon: Like lovers, spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, those you have crushes on... 

Gabumon: Honmei Chocolates are more than likely homemade to show that person that you are very special to them. Homemade things are much more meaningful in Japanese culture and shows that you really care about the person you made it for since they went through the trouble to do it. You can buy chocolate mixes in the store to make it, sort of like how one can buy a cake mix to bake a cake. 

Palmon: So more than likely, if a guy received something homemade from a girl, it could mean that they are highly interested in that guy romantically. 

Hawkmon: Bingo!! 

Everyone: (Sweatdrops) Not again with the bingos!!   
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_The way you brought Ken into the fic was smartly done and the scene with his chess game was quite touching!_

Wormmon: (Blows nose) My poor Ken-chan!! Having to have gone through such a sad ordeal. It was touching to me too... 

Patamon: What sad ordeal? 

Wormmon: Losing his brother! 

Patamon: Oh, that. Well yes, that is sad. 

Wormmon: Wait, what are you doing here? I thought you were spiked, kicked, and thrown. 

Patamon: Fic magic. I'm all better again and I will never say anything bad about RP ever again, (under his breath), for a while anyway... 

Wormmon: Oh, well in reference to the comment, arigatou! 

Patamon: RP is fan of Chess, a rotten player, but a fan of it and she could see Ken as a Chess player. 

Wormmon: That's not all, she just wanted Ken-chan in here! 

Patamon: That too! Thanks a lot for the comment! ^_^   
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V-mon: We're getting up to the real _interesting_ comments now! 

Tailmon: The Mishirou stuff? 

Hawkmon: Bingo!! 

Tailmon: That does it!! If you say Bingo _one_ more time, I promise you that I will get you later when no one else is around to hold me back!! 

The bird sweatdropped and nodded. 

Tailmon: Do you understand? 

Hawkmon: (Sly smirk) Perfecto! 

Tailmon: (Facefaults) 

Palmon: Now the next few comments are going to be on the stuff dealing with the Cherry Blossom Festival... 

Tentomon: Let's look over them, shall we... 

_Nooo!!! This is suppose to be a koumi!! All well mimto is ok._

Palmon: That's what we thought. 

Tentomon: It seemed like the most logical thing to do... 

Hawkmon: But maybe it was a bit too cliched? You think? 

The other Digimon shrugged. 

Piyomon: Who knows, but it was rather surprising that it didn't end up a romance story between Koushirou and Mimi with the way it was going. 

Palmon: As for the Mimato stuff, RP surprised herself with that one. She's not too big a fan of Mimato. 

Gabumon: She doesn't hate it, but she doesn't like it either. 

Palmon: She _does_ like it angsty and onesided, which is pretty much what she did. She likes it when Yamato has the crush on Mimi and her just liking him as a friend. 

Tentomon: She likes other pairings including Mimi-han and Yamato-han much better, though.   
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Tailmon: Let's see, the next comment is... 

_I'm glad u didn't hurt daisuke in the takari part, that's the main thing I hate about takari usually but they're all right if they don't bash daisuke._

Patamon: (Sticks tongue out at V-mon) Haha!! See, RP put _my_ Takeru with Hikari and _not_ Daisuke! 

V-mon: (Hmmphing) Who cares! 

Patamon: Now me and Tailmon are the perfect partners. 

V-mon: (Muttering) Yeah right! 

Tailmon: (Ignores the both of them) The idea that RP was trying to get across in reference to Daisuke's character, was that he had grown up quite a bit and even though he may still like Hikari, he wouldn't get in the way of her own happiness like he would if he were probably his early Adventure 02 self when it came to Takeru in general. 

V-mon: I'm still surprised that she didn't put my Daisuke with her! 

Tailmon: I'm actually surprised too. RP likes alternate couplings including Takeru and Hikari much better than those two actually being together. 

V-mon: Like Daisuke x Hikari!! 

Tailmon: (Sighs) Yes, like Daisuke x Hikari...   
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Hawkmon: Here is the next comment... 

_This has to be one of the bst koumi's I have ever read._

Palmon: It's one of the best ones I have had the honor to be in too! 

Tentomon: But it didn't turn out to be a Koumi... 

Palmon: It doesn't matter! It is still a Koumi, only not in the romantic sense. 

Hawkmon: Explain that one. 

Palmon: It is more so a Koushirou x Mimi friendship fic, which RP also really likes. She just loves when they interact. 

Hawkmon: But was that the plan from the beginning? Having it a friendship fic between Koushirou-san and Mimi-san? 

Palmon: At the _very_ beginning it was intended to be just a typical story about Koushirou looking for information for his biological family with the help of my Mimi and the two being good friends. As it went on, though, RP's liking of that particular pairing started to show, so she decided to have the two get together, especially after the stuff dealing with Mimi's encounter with that stupid man. 

Tentomon: So why didn't she? 

Palmon: Because of what Hawkmon said earlier. It would have been too cliched and predictable and after hearing the song, _Never End_, it reminded her of the two, but in a way where they want to be with each other, but fate not allowing it. 

Tentomon/Hawkmon: Oh...   
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Gomamon: Time for the next comment! 

_Good stuff! Good, good stuff! My favourite parts have to be: the conversation that takes place between Miyako and Jou while Koushirou is going crazy and the flashback where Kimiko gets adopted thanks to Izzy, both parts where very well written and highly enjoyable._

Gomamon: My poor Jou, having to put up with Miyako. 

Hawkmon: What's _that_ supposed to mean!?! 

Gomamon: She was making him crazy with the stuff she was saying. 

Hawkmon: My beautiful Miyako-san was only stating facts about human nature that she suspiciously knows a lot about. 

Gomamon: But Jou couldn't take it! 

Hawkmon: It is not her fault that your human partner is so wimpy when it comes to human nature. 

Gomamon: That's not it! It's the fact that it came from Miyako who is younger than him! 

Hawkmon: Excuses, excuses... 

Gomamon: Hey!! 

Hawkmon: Nya, nya, nya! 

Tailmon: (Shakes her head) While those two argue, I'll take this one. She always liked the idea of Jou freaking out when it came to the discussing of the "Birds & the Bees." She always wondered how he would react in that particular situation and now you have it. 

Tentomon: As for my Koushirou-han freaking out, RP-han just has this sick and twisted mind to put him in situations to make him seem crazy. 

Gabumon: Only because he's the quiet one and we all know how the quiet ones snap. 

Armadimon: Just like Iori in her other fic. 

Agumon: Or that Takato child from Digimon Tamers. 

Tentomon: And you all don't see a problem with that? -_- 

Gomamon: (Smirking) Nope, because she only does that to Koushirou. 

Hawkmon: (Trying not to laugh) Yeah, Koushirou-san is the only character RP uses to make crazy enough to be actually committed. 

Tentomon: (Muttering) Don't remind me... -_- 

Tailmon: (Ignores the others) Thank you for the comment dealing with Miyako and Jou. She had a_ lot_ of fun writing it. 

Palmon: As for Kimiko, from RP's reading an e-mail that was sent to her by one of the readers and going back over your reviews, she remembered that she was planning on getting her back into the fic somehow. 

Piyomon: RP has one _terrible_ memory. There's one part for this fic she actually forgot to use in reference to when Mimi and Koushirou actually _started_ the assignment. She remembered it about four or five parts later. 

V-mon: So for that, RP really thanks you all for reminding her.   
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_Ah, nice one! I loved it! You really captured the characters in a great way, especially Miyako and Jyou, their scenes were the best. You should really consider doing a short comedy fic featuring those two seeing how well you can handle them._

Hawkmon: Wow! A story staring my Miyako-san would be _won_derful! 

Gomamon: Poor Jou! Miyako'll make him crazier than Koushirou! 

Tentomon: Sounds good to me! 

Gomamon: It wasn't meant to be that way! 

Tentomon: It would be nice to give my Koushirou-han a break. 

Gomamon: Would not! 

Tentomon: Would to! 

Gomamon: Would not! 

Tentomon: I say it will! 

All of the other Digimon sweatdropped as Gomamon and Tentomon argued and also ignored them. 

V-mon: What does RP think about that? 

Armadimon: She likes the idea and glad that it was suggested. 

Gabumon: I sense that RP will do that now that it has been brought up. 

Armadimon: Of course! 

Wormmon: I hope it doesn't end up scary like that fic she did about Koushirou and the aliens. 

Gabumon/Tentomon/Patamon: Don't remind us!! 

V-mon: (Sweatdropped) Um, yeah. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. The thought hadn't even entered RP's mind to write a fic dealing with those two. 

Agumon: Humor, of course. 

V-mon: What else would she use? 

Tentomon: Beware, Hawkmon. Because of that review, RP-han is now brainstorming for ideas to make a comedy fic dealing with Miyako-han and Jou-han. 

Hawkmon: I can handle that! 

Wormmon: RP also says thank you for the compliment. She didn't think she had done that good a job with those two. ^_^   
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_The interaction between Mimi and Koushirou was also nicely done, especially their hidden feelings for one another._

Palmon: Yay! Koumi, Koumi, Koumi! 

Tentomon: Palmon, it didn't happen, remember? 

Palmon: Who cares! It's still cute! 

Piyomon: I still don't understand why RP didn't put the two together. Cliche or not, it's mutual between the two. They both liked each other. 

Hawkmon: Because it _is_ a cliche, that's why! It's too predictable to have the two get together! 

Piyomon: Who cares! This is love! 

Hawkmon: Um, yeah, love. 

Piyomon: What's with you? Don't you believe in love, Hawkmon? 

Hawkmon: Sure, but what good is it if the person doesn't notice, like my Miyako-san! She never notices since she is always after Koushirou-san! 

Everyone gave the hawk like Digi a look. 

Tailmon: (Sweatdropped) Oh-kay... 

Palmon: Getting off _that_ topic, let us get back to the comment. I liked the interaction between them too! ^_^ 

Tentomon: You would... 

Palmon: And _what's_ wrong with that? 

Tentomon: Nothing, I'm just saying that you would. 

Palmon: You didn't have to say it like that, though! 

Tentomon: Like what? 

Palmon: Like that! 

Gabumon: I would strongly suggest ignoring those two, like the rest of us are doing. Anyway, that's exactly what RP was trying to do. Get in some good interaction between both Mimi and Koushirou and hint tremendously that the two really liked each other in more than a friendship way. Something to make it even more angsty. 

Gomamon: What is _with_ her and the angst... 

Gabumon: She did it that way to _keep_ their feelings hidden. 

Gomamon: If you say so... 

Gabumon: Either way, RP really appreciates your pointing that out. ^_^   
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_Other parts I enjoyed, the scene with Koushirou's new sibling. It was a very touching moment when Koushirou named his new sister after his biological mother, although I had a feeling that he would've named the baby after his mom._

Tailmon: That _does_ seem logical. Why _didn't_ RP have Koushirou name his new sister Yoshie instead of Miki? 

Tentomon: That is quite simple, my felined friend. 

Tailmon: Um, yeah, whatever. Anyway, why didn't she have him name her Yoshie? 

Tentomon: RP-han just wanted to find a way to get some kind of a connection between Koushirou-han and his biological mother. His naming his new sister Miki-han was all RP-han could come up with. Besides, that _was_ originally what she had in mind, having her named after his adoptive mother. 

Armadimon: And why did she decide against it? 

Patamon: Because it would have been too obvious to use. She likes to surprise the readers I guess. 

Tentomon: That scene brought tears to my eyes! At times like this, I wish I had a Digimommy. 

Agumon: Oh Tentomon, that line is _so_ season 1. 

Tentomon: But it's true! It _was_ a touching scene. 

Gabumon: Just what RP was going for and by the looks of the review, she succeeded!   
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_I'm also kind of sad that this marvellous story is over but glad that you're considering on doing a sequel. Well, thanks again for keeping me updated on it's progress and good luck with the sequel!_

Tentomon: I'm sad this fic is over too. 

Patamon: Why is that? 

Tentomon: Because this is the only fic my Koushirou-han has been in without him acting like some kind of a mental case. 

Hawkmon: What about his outburst with the doctor? 

Tentomon: That doesn't count! That was a _normal_ crazy. 

Tailmon: A normal crazy? I never knew there _was_ such a thing. 

Tentomon: Well, there isn't, but it is now since I made up just this second. ^^; 

Tailmon: -_- 

Palmon: RP's response to that is, "You are very welcome." 

Armadimon: And thanks for the luck for the sequel from her to you too. She could use it! 

V-mon: Yeah, especially since it probably lacks us Digimon. 

Patamon: Oh, don't worry. We'll _find_ a way for her to get us into that fic! 

Wormmon: Definitely! I didn't get to hang around my Ken-chan at all for this fic! 

Piyomon: We will scheme and plot later, but first we have to finish up the reviews. 

Palmon: Hey, we have finished all of them. 

Gomamon: I hope we didn't miss any. 

Hawkmon: I'm sure we didn't, and if we did, it was an accident. 

Tentomon: Well, since we _are_ done answering and responding to the reviews, we might as well end this. 

All Digimon: Hai! 

V-mon: We would like to thank all you readers out there who read this fic. 

Patamon: You guys were very brave to do such a thing! 

Hawkmon: What's that supposed to mean? 

Patamon: Look at how long this story is, I'm surprised everyone didn't run off. 

Wormmon: It'll take more than that to scare readers off. Now, we have to plan and scheme so we can weasel our way into the sequel! I want to see my Ken-chan! 

All of the Digimon nodded in agreement as they all started to plot for the sequel... 

**THE END** ******************************************************************************************************************************************* 

I _know_ that could have been better, but my mind went blank. ^^; But, I do appreciate you all taking the time to read this fic. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it for you. But I still loved the reviews even more! ^_^ 

Oh, let me say this now, I have nothing against football and stuff. I don't know much about football, actually. I know the game, but that's about it. When it comes to the different teams and who's a good team, etc., I'm clueless. So, just so you'll know, I have nothing against the Bengals or whatever. To be honest, I actually got the idea to use that skit thanks to DavidAP and our talking about the Simpsons, as usual. lol Thanks again, Davy-kun. ^_^ 

Let's see, what else can I torture you all with? lol Oh yeah, it is true. I _am_ writing a sequel to this fic. I'm going to put the first part of it up just so you'd get an idea as to what it's going to be about and what's going to be in it, etc. It is going to be a future fic and the story, itself, is going to revolve around Mimi's son, pretty much, and his trying to adapt to the ways of Odaiba. There's more information about the actual fic in the Author's Note there if any of you are interested. It gives a better description than what I did here and don't judge it by the first part with all of the goofy Digimon stuff, judge it by the second part where the story officially begins. 

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=863087 

The one thing I need from you readers, though, are ideas as to which characters you would like to see again for the sequel that appeared in this fic. You know, the miscellaneous characters that appeared in this fic, like Mimi's friends, the boy they met at Odaiba University, Shuu, etc. 

Well, thanks again for reading and I hope you read the sequel to this fic and I am always open for ideas, so don't forget to leave them. ^_^ 


End file.
